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^ . ’-i/w * » V f ^ U\ « V » * « '* ✓ 







The Winning of 
Barbara Worth 


By HAROLD BELL WRIGHT 

Author of * 'The Calling of Dan Matthews, ” The Shepherd 
of the Hills,” ‘‘That Printer of Udell's,” 

“Their Yesterdays,” etc. 



With Four Illustrations 
By F. GRAHAM COOTES 


A. L. BURT COMPANY 

New York 


Publishers 



•X *-•- 









i » 



COPYRIGHT. 1911, 
n Haro ld Bell Wright 

Copyright. 1911 

*v Ei^br ry W Reynoux 

^bushed, August, 19li 

*“■ ^ghts Rbsbrvt 



J 


-j 



i 




CONTENTS 

©HAFTEE PAGE 

I. Into the Infinite Long Ago . c 11 
II« Jefferson Worth’s Offering. 30 

III. Miss Barbara Worth 53 

IV. You’d Better Make It Ninety. 62 

V. What the Indian Told the 

Seer 83 

VI. The Standard of the West. . . 101 

VII. Don’t You Like My Desert, 

Mr. Holmes? 116 

VIII. Why Willard Holmes Stayed. 137 

IX. The Master Passion * — “Good 

Business”. . 150 

X. Barbara’s Love for the Seer. 168 

XI. Abe Lee Designs 178 

XII. Signs of Conflict 194 

XILL Barbara’s Call to Her Friends 205 
XIV. Much Confusion and Happy 

Excitement 217 

XV. Barbara Comes Into Her Own. 233 
XVL Jefferson Worth’s Operations 248 
XVII. James Greenfield Seeks an 

Advantage 263 

XVIII. The Game Progresses 274 

XIX. Gathered at Barbara’s Court . 283 
XXo What the Stakes Revealed. . 292 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

XXL 

XXIL 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV, 

XXVL 

XXVIL 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX, 

XXXI. 

XXXII, 

XXXIII, 

XXXIV, 

XXXV. 

XXXVI. 

XXXVII. 

XXXVIII. 


PAG® 

Pablo Beings News to Baebaea 304 
Gathering of Ominous Forces, 318 

Exacting Royal Tribute 334 

Jefferson Worth Goes foe 

Help 345 

Willard Holmes on Trial. . . . 360 

Held in Suspense.. 369 

Abe Lee’s Ride to Save Jef~ 

ferson Worth. 375 

What the Company Man Told 

the Mexicans. ... 390 

Tell Barbara I’m All Right. . 399 
Manana ! Manana ! To-morrow l 
To-morrow ........ 0 418 

Barbara’s Waitin’ Breakfast 

for You 435 

Barbara Ministers to the 

Wounded. .... 438 

Willard Holm-es Receives His 

Answer. 450 

Battling with the River. ... 460 
Nature and Human Nature. . . 480 
Out of The Hollow of God’s 

Hand 490 

Back to the Old San Felipe 

Trail 498 

The Heritage of Barbara 
Worth. .... 504 


Winning of Barbara Worth 


CHAPTER L 

INTO THE INFINITE LONG AGO, 

EFFERSON WORTH’S outfit of four mules 
and a big wagon pulled out of San Felipe 
at daybreak, beaded for Rubio City<> 
From the swinging red tassels on tbe bridles of th© 
leaders to tbe galvanized iron water bucket dangling 
from tbe tail of the reach back of the rear axle the 
outfit wore an unmistakable air of prosperity. 

The wagon was loaded only with a well-stocked 
“grub-box,” the few necessary camp cooking utensils, 
blankets and canvas tarpaulin, with rolled barley 
and bales of hay for the team, and two water barrels 
— empty. Hanging by its canvas strap from thej 
spring of tbe driver’s seat was a large, cloth-covered 
canteen. Behind tbe drivei there was another seat of, 
tbe same wide, comfortable type, but tbe man who 
held tbe reins was apparently alone. Jefferson 
Worth was not with bis outfit. 

By sending tbe heavy wagon on ahead and follow- 
ing later with a faster team and a light buckboard 5 

11 



THE WINDING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Mr. Worth could join his outfit in camp that night, 
saving thus at least another half day for business in 
San Felipe. Jefferson Worth, as he himself would 
have put it, “figured on the value of time.” Indeed 
Jefferson Worth figured on the value of nearly every- 
thing. 

i How San Felipe, you must know, is where the big 
ships come in and the air tingles with the electricity 
of commerce as men from all lands, driven by the 
master passion of human kind — Good Business — 
seek each his own. 

But Rubio City, though born of that same master 
passion of the race, is where the thin edge of civil- 
ization is thinnest, on the Colorado River, miles 
beyond the Coast Range Mountains, on the farther 
side of that dreadful land where the thirsty atmos- 
phere is charged with the awful silence of uncounted 
ages. 

Between these two scenes of man’s activity, so 
different and yet so like, and crossing thus the land 
of my story, there was only a rude trail — two hun- 
dred and more hard and lonely miles of it — the only 
mark of man in all that desolate waste and itself 
marked every mile by the graves of men and by the 
bleached bones of their cattle. 

All that forenoon, on every side of the outfit, the 
'beautiful life of the coast country throbbed and 
exulted. It called from the heaving ocean with its 
many gleaming sails and dark drifting steamer smoke 
under the wide sky; it sang from the harbor where 
the laden ships meet the long trains that come and go 
on their continental errands ; it cried loudly from the 

12 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


busy streets of village and town and laughed out 
from field and orchard. But always the road led 
toward those mountains that lifted their oak-clad 
shoulders and pine-fringed ridges across the way as 
though in dark and solemn warning to any who 
should dare set their faces toward the dreadful land 
of want and death that lay on their other side. 

In the afternoon every mile brought scenes more 
lonely until, in the foothills, that creeping bit of 
life on the hard old trail was forgotten by the busy 
world behind, even as it seemed to forget that there 
was anywhere any life other than its creeping self. 

As the sweating mules pulled strongly up the 
heavy grades the man on the high seat of the wagon 
repaid the indifference of his surroundings with a like 
indifference. Unmoved by the forbidding grimness 
of the mountains, unthoughtful of their solemn warn- 
ing, he took his place as much a part of the lonely 
scene as the hills themselves. Slouching easily in his 
seat he gave heed only to his team and to the road 
ahead. When he spoke to the mules his voice was a 
soft, good-natured drawl, as though he spoke from out 
a pleasing reverie, and though his words were often 
hard words they were carried to the animals on an 
under-current of fellowship and understanding: 
The long whip, with coiled lash, was in its socket at 
the end of the seat. The stops were frequent. Wise 
in the wisdom of the unfenced country and knowing 
the land ahead, this driver would conserve every 
ounce of his team’s strength against a possible time of 
great need. 

They were creeping across a flank of the hill when 

13 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


the off-leader sprang to the left so violently that 
nothing but the instinctive bracing of his trace-mate 
held them from going over the grade. The same 
instant the wheel team repeated the maneuver, but 
not so quickly, as the slouching figure on the seat 
sprang into action. A quick strong pull on the 
reins, a sharp yell: “You, Buck! Molly !” and a 
rattling volley of strong talk swung the four back 
into the narrow road before the front wheels were out 
4>f the track. 

With a crash the heavy brake was set. The team 
stopped. As the driver half rose and turned to look 
back he slipped the reins to his left hand and his 
right dropped to his hip. With a motion too quick 
for the eye to follow the free arm straightened . and 
the mountain echoed wildly to the loud report of a 
forty-five. By the side of the road in the rear of the 
wagon a rattlesnake uncoiled its length and writhed 
slowly in the dust. 

Before the echoes of the shot had died away a mad, 
inarticulate roar came from the depths of the wagon 
box. The roar was followed by a thick stream of 
oaths in an unmistakably Irish voice. The driver, 
who was slipping a fresh cartridge into the cylinder, 
looked up to see a man grasping the back of the rem 
seat for support while rising unsteadily to his feet. 

The Irishman, as he stood glaring fiercely at the 
man who had so rudely awakened him, was without 
hat or coat, and with bits of hay clinging to a soiled 
shirt that was unbuttoned at the hairy throat, pre- 
sented a remarkable figure. His heavy body was 
<%ed with legs like posts; his wide shoulders and 


14 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


deep chest, with arms to match his legs, were so 
huge as to appear almost grotesque ; his round head, 
with its tumbled thatch of sandy hair, was set on a 
thick bull-neck; while all over the big bones of him 
the hard muscles lay in visible knots and bunches. 
The unsteady poise, the red, unshaven, sweating 
face, and the angry, blood-shot eyes, revealed the 
reason for his sleep under such uncomfortable cir- 
cumstances. The silent driver gazed at his fearsome 
passenger with calm eyes that seemed to hold in their 
dark depths the mystery of many a still night under 
the still stars. 

In a voice that rumbled up from his hairy chest — 
a husky menacing growl — the Irishman demanded: 
“Fwhat the hell do ye mane, dishturbin’ the peace 
wid yer clamor? For less than a sup av wather I’d 
go over to ye wid me two hands.” 

Calmly the other dropped his gun into its holster. 
Pointing to the canteen that hung over the side of 
the wagon fastened by its canvas strap to the seat 
spring, he drawled softly : “There’s the water. Help 
yourself, stranger.” 

The gladiator, without a word, reached for the 
canteen and with huge, hairy paws lifted it to his 
lips. After a draught of prodigious length he heaved 
a long sigh and wiped his mouth with the back of his 
hand. Then he turned his fierce eyes again on the 
driver as if to inquire what manner of person he 
might be who had so unceremoniously challenged his 
threat. 

The Irishman saw a man, tall and spare, but of a 
stringy, tough and supple leanness that gave him the 


15 


* THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


look of being fashioned by tbe out-of-doors. He* 
too, was coatless but wore a vest unbuttoned over a 
loose, coarse shirt. A red bandana was knotted easily 
| about his throat. With his wide, high-crowned hat, 
i rough trousers tucked in long boots, laced-leather 
wrist guards and the loosely buckled cartridge belt 
with its long forty-five, his very dress expressed the 
easy freedom of the wild lands, while the dark, thin 
face, accented by jet black hair and a long, straight 
mustache, had the look of the wide, sun-burned 
plains. v 

With a grunt that might have expressed either 
approval or contempt, the Irishman turned and grop- 
ing about in the wagon found a sorry wreck of a hat. 
Again he stooped and this time, from between the 
bales of hay, lifted a coat, fit companion to the hat. 
Carefully he felt through pocket after pocket. His 
search was rewarded by a short-stemmed clay pipe 
and the half of a match — nothing more. With an 
effort he explored the pockets of his trousers. Then 
again he searched the coat; muttering to himself 
broken sentences, not the less expressive because in- 
complete: “Where the divil Now don’t that 

bate Well, I’ll be ” With a temper not 

improved by his loss he threw down the garment in 
disgust and looked up angrily. The silent driver was 
holding toward him a sack of tobacco. 

The Irishman, with another grunt, crawled under 
the empty seat and climbing heavily over the back of 
the seat in front, planted himself stolidly by the 
driver’s side. Filling his pipe with care and delib- 
eration he returned the sack to its owner and struck 


16 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


the half-match along one post-like leg. Shielding, 
the tiny flame with his hands before applying the 
light he remarked thoughtfully: “Ye are a danged 
reckless fool to he so dishturbin’ me honest slape by 
explodin’ that cannon ye carry. ’Tis on me mind to 
discipline ye for sich outrageous conduct.” The 
last word was followed by loud, smacking puffs, as 
he started the fire in the pipe-bowl under his nose. 

While the Irishman was again uttering his threat*! 
the driver, with a skillful twist, rolled a cigarette 
and, leaning forward just in the nick of time, he 
deliberately shared the half-match with his blustering 
companion. In that instant the blue eyes above the 
pipe looked straight into the black eyes above the 
cigarette, and a faint twinkle of approval met a 
serious glance of understanding. 

Gathering up his reins and sorting them carefully, 
the driver spoke to his team : “You, Buck ! Molly ! 
Jack! Pete!” The mules heaved ahead. Again the 
silence of the world-old hills was shattered by the 
rattling rumble of the heavy-tired wagon and the 
ring and clatter of iron-shod hoofs. 

Stolidly the Irishman pulled at the short-stemmed 
pipe, the wagon seat sagging heavily with his weight 
at every jolt of the wheels, while from under his 
tattered hat rim his fierce eyes looked out upon the 
wild landscape with occasional side glances at his 
silent, indifferent companion. 

Again the team was halted for a rest on the heavy 
grade. Long and carefully the Irishman looked 
about him and then, turning suddenly upon the still 
silent driver, he gazed at him for a full minute 

17 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


before saying, with elaborate mock formality: “It 
may be, Sorr, that bein’ ye are sicb a bell av a con- 
versationalist, nt wouldn’t tax yer vocal powers 
beyand their sbtrengtb av I should be so baould as to 
ax ye fwbat the divil place is this ?” 

, The soft, slow drawl of the other answered : 
“Sure. That there is No Man’s Mountains ahead.” 

' “No Man’s, is ut; an’ ut looks that same. Where 
.did ye say ye was thryin’ to go?” 

“We’re headed for Rubio City. This here is the 
old San Felipe trail.” 

“Uh-huh ! So we're goin’ to Rubio City, are we ? 
For all I know that may as well be nowhere at alio 
Well, well, ut’s news av intherest to me. We are 
goin’ to Rubio City. Ut may be that ye would ex- 
shplain, Sorr, how I come to be here at all.” 

“Sure Mike ! You come in this here wagon from 
San Felipe.” 

At the drawling answer the hot blood' flamed in the 
face of the short-tempered Irishman and the veins 
in his thick neck stood out as if they would bursto 
*“Me name’s not Mike at all, but Patrick Mooney !” he 
roared. “I’ve two good eyes in me head that can see 
yer danged old wagon for meself, an’ fwhat’s more 
I’ve two good hands that can break ye in bits for the 
impedent dried herrin’ that ye are, a-thinkin’ ye can 
take me anywhere at all be abductin’ me widout me 

consent. For a sup o’ wather I’d go to ye ” He 

turned quickly to look behind him for the driver was 
calmly pointing toward the end of the seat. “Fwhat 
is ut ? Fwhat’s there ?” he demanded. 


18 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“The water/’ drawled the dark-faced man. “I 
don’t reckon yon drunk it all the other time.” 

Again the big man lifted the canteen and drank 
long and deep. When he had wiped his mouth with 
the back of his hairy hand and had returned the 
canteen to its place, he faced his companion — his 
blue eyes twinkling with positive approval. Scratch- 
ing his head meditatively, he said : “An’ all because 
av me wantin’ to enjoy the blessin’s an’ advantages 
av civilization agin afther three long months in that 
danged gradin’ camp, as is the right av ivery healthy 
man wid his pay in his pocket.” 

The teamster laughed softly. “You was sure 
enjoyin’ of it a-plenty.” 

The other looked at him with quickened interest 
“Ye was there?” he asked. 

“Some,” was the laconic reply. 

The Irishman scratched his head again with a 
puzzled air. “I disremimber entire. Was there 
some throuble maybe ?” 

The other grinned. “Things was movin’ a few.” 

Patrick Mooney nodded his head. “Uh-huh ° 
mostly they do under thim circumstances. Av course 
there’d. be a policeman, or maybe two ?” 

“Five,” said the man with the lines, gently. 

“Five ! Howly Mither ! I did mesilf proud. An ? 
did they have the wagon? Sure they wud — five 
policemen niver walked. Wan av thim might, av ut 
was handy-like, but five — niver ! Tell me, man, who 
else was at the party? No — howld on a minut!” 
He interrupted himself, “Thim cops stimulate me 


19 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


mimory a bit. Was there not a bunch av sailor-men 
from wan av thim big ships V ’ 

The driver nodded. 

The other, pleased with the success of his mental 
effort, continued: “Uh-huh — an’ I was havin’ a 
peaceful dhrink wid thim all whin somewan made 
impedent remarks touchin’ me appearance, or ances- 
tors, I disremimber which. But where was you?” 

“Well, you see,” explained the driver in his slow 
way, “hit was like this. That there saloon were 
plumb full of sailor-men all exceptin’ you an’ me. I 
was a heap admirin’ of the way you handled that big 
hombre what opened the meetin’ and also his two 
pardners, who aimed to back his play. Hit was sure 
pretty work. The rest of the crowd sort o’ bunched 
in one end of the room an’ when you began addressin 9 
the congregation, so to speak, on the habits, character, 
customs and breedin’ of sailor-men in general an’ the 
present company in particular, I see right there that 
you was a-bitin’ off more ’n you could chaw. It 
wasn’t no way reasonable that any human could han- 
dle that whole outfit with only just his bare hands, 
so I edged over your way, plumb edified by your 
remarks, and when the rush for the mourners’ bench 
come I unlimbered an’ headed the stampede pronto. 
Then I made my little proposition. I told ’em that, 
bein’ the only individual on the premises not a sailor- 
man nor an Irishman, I felt it my duty to referee the 
obsequies, so to speak, and that odds of twenty to one, 
not to mention knives, was strictly agin my con- 
victions. Moreover, bein’ the sole an’ only uninter- 
ested audience, I had rights. Then I offers to bet 


20 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA^ WORTH 


my pile, even money, that you could handle the whole 
bunch, takin’ ’em two at a throw. I knowed it were 
some odds, but I noticed that them three what opened 
the meetin’ was still under the influence. Also I 
undertook to see that specifications was faithfully 
fulfilled.” 

“Mither av Gawd, fwhat a sociable !” broke in the 
Irishman. “An’ me too dhrunk to remimber rightly ! 
Hid they take yer bet ? Ye sun-burned limb av the 
divil — did they take ut?” 

“They sure did,” drawled the driver. “I had my 
gun on them all the time.” 

“Hurroo ! An’ did I do ut ? Tell me quick — did 
I do ut ? Sure I could aisy av nothin’ happened.” 

“You laid your first pair on top of the three, 
then the police called the game and the bets were 
off.” 

“They pinched the house ?” 

“They took you an’ me.” 

“Sure! av course they would take us two. ’Tis 
thim San Felipe police knows their duty. But how 
could they do ut?” 

“I forget details right here, bein’ temporarily in- 
capacitated by one o’ them hittin’ me with a club 
from behind. I woke up in a cell with you.” 

The Irishman rubbed the back of his head. “Come 
to think av ut, I have a bit av a bump on me own 
noodle that ’tis like helps to exshplain the cell. But 
fwhat in the divil’s name brung us here in this Gawd- 
forsaken Nobody’s Place ? Pass me another pipeful 
an’ tell me that av ye can.” 

The driver passed over the tobacco sack and, stop- 


21 


THE WIHHIHG OF "BARBARA WORTH 


ping His team for another rest, rolled a cigarette for 
himself. “That’s easy,” he said. “This here is 
Jefferson Worth’s outfit. He wanted me to start 
home this morning, so he got me off. I don’t know 
how he done it; mostly nobody knows how Jefferson 
Worth does things. There was a man with him whc 
knowed you and, as I was some disinclined to leavfe 
you under the circumstances, Mr. Worth fixed it up 
for you, too, then we all jest thro wed you in and 
fetched you along. Mr. Worth with the other man 
and his kid are cornin’ on in a buckboard. They’ll 
catch up with us where we camp to-night. I don’t 
mind sayin’ that I plumb admired your spirit and 
action and — sizin’ up that police bunch — I could see 
your talents would sure be wasted in that San Felipe 
country for some time to come. There’ll be plenty of 
room in Rubio City for you, leastwise ’till you draw 
your pay again. If you don’t like the accommoda- 
tions you’re gettin’ I reckon you’d better make good 
your talk back there and we’ll see whether you takes 
this outfit back to San Felipe or I takes her on to 
Rubio City.” 

The Irishman spat emphatically over the wheel. 
“An’ ’tis a gintleman wid proper instincts ye are, 
though, as a rule, I howld ut impolite to carry a 
gun. But afther all, ’tis a matter av opinion an’ I’m 
free to admit that there are occasions. Anyhow ye 
handle ut wid grace an’ intilligence. An’, fists er 
shticks, er knives, er guns, that’s the thing that marks 
the man. ’Tis not Patrick Mooney that’ll fault a 
gintleman for ways that he can’t help owin’ to his 
improper bringin’ up. Av ye don’t mind, will ye tell 

22 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


me fwhat they call ye ? I’ll not be so indelicate as to 
ax yer name. Fwbat they call ye will be enough.” 

The other laughed. “My name is Joe Brannin. 
They call me Texas Joe — Tex, for short.” 

“Good bhoy, Tex ! Ye look the divil av a lot like 
a red herrin’, but that’s not sich a bad fish, an’ ye 
have the right flavor. How could ye help ut ? Bran- 
Inin an’ Texas is handles to pull a man through hell 
wid. But tell me this — who is this man that says 
he knows me ?” 

Texas Joe shook his head and, picking out his 
lines, called to his team. When they were under 
way again he said: “I didn’t hear his name but I 
judge from the talk that he is one o’ them there civil 
engineers, an’ that he’s headin’ for Rubio City to 
build the railroad that’s goin’ through to the coast. 
Mr. Worth told me that there would be another man 
and a kid to go back with us, but I know that Mr. 
Worth hadn’t never seen them before himself.” 

Pat shifted his heavy bulk to face the driver and, 
removing his pipe from his mouth, asked with delib- 
eration: “An’ do ye mane to tell me that this place 
we’re goin’ to is on the new line av the Southwestern 
an’ Continental?” 

“Sure. They’re buildin’ into Rubio City from the 
East now.” 

The Irishman became excited. “An’ this man that 
knows me — this engineer — is he a fine, big, up- 
standin’ man wid brown eyes an’ the look av a king ?” 

“I ain’t never seen no kings,” drawled Tex, “but 
the rest of it sure fits him.” 

“Well, fwhat do ye think av that? ’Tis the Seer 

23 


THE WHSTHIJSTG OF BARBARA WORTH 


himsilf, or I’m not the son av me own mither. I was 
hearin’ in Frisco, where I went the last time I 
drawed me pay, that he was like to be on the S. an* 
C. extension. ’Twas that that took me to San Felipe, 
bein’ wishful to get a job wid him again. Well, well, 
an’ to think ut’s the Seer himsilf!” 

“What’s that you call him ?” 

“The Seer. I disremimber his other name but he’s 
got wan all shtraight an’ proper. He’s that kind. 
They call him the Seer because av his talk av the 
great things that will be doin’ in this country av no 
rain at all whin ignorant savages like yersilf learn 
how to use the wather that’s in the rivers for irriga- 
tion. I’ve heard him say mesilf that hundreds av 
thousands av acres av these big deserts will be turned 
into farms, an’ all that be what he calls ‘Reclama- 
tion.’ ’Twas for that some danged yellow-legged sur- 
veyor give him the name, an’ ut shtuck. But most 
av the engineers — the rale engineers do ye mind — 
is wid him, though they do be jokin’ him the divil av 
a lot about what they calls his visions.” 

“He didn’t look like he was locoed,” said Texas 
Joe thoughtfully, “but he’s sure some off on that 
there desert proposition as you’ll see before we lands 
in Rubio.” 

“I dunno — I’ve seen some quare things in me time 
in the way av big jobs that nobody thought could be 
done at all. But lave ut go. ’Tis not the likes av 
me an’ you that’s qualified to give judgment on sich 
janiuses as the Seer, who, I heard tell, has the right 
to put more big-manin’ letters afther his name than 
ye have teeth in yer head.” 


24 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“All the same it ain’t the brand on a horse that 
makes him travel. A man’ll sure need somethin’ 
more hefty than letters after his name when he goes 
up against the desert.” 

“Well, lave ut go at that. Wait ’til ye know him. 
But fwhat’s this yer tellin’ me about a kid ? The Seer 
has no family at all but liimsilf an’ his job.” 

Texas grinned. “Maybe not, pard; but he’s sure 
got together part of a family this trip.” 

“Is ut a gurl, or a bhoy ?” 

“Boy — ’bout a ten-year-old, I’d say.” 

The Irishman shook his head doubtfully. “I 
dunno. ’Tis a quare thing for the Seer. Av it was 
me, or you, now — but the Seer ! It’s danged quare ! 
But tell me, fwhat’s this man, yer boss ? ’Tis a good 
healthy pull he must have to be separatin’ us from 
thim San Felipe police.” 

Texas Joe deliberated so long before answering 
this that Pat glanced at him uneasily several times. 
At last the driver drawled: “You’re right there; 
Jefferson Worth sure has some pull.” 

Pat grunted. “But fwhat does he do ?” 

“Do ?” Tex swung his team around a spur of the 
mountain where the trail leads along the side of a 
canyon to its head. Far below they heard the tum- 
bling roar of a stream in its rocky course. 

“Sure the man must do something?” 

“As near as I can make out Jefferson Worth does 
everybody.” 

“Oh ho ! So that’s ut ? I’ve no care for the cards 
mesilf, but av a man’s a professional an’ — ■” 

“You’re off there, pardner. Jefferson Worth ain’t 

25 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


that kind. He’s one o’ these here financierin’ sports, 
an’ so far as anybody that I ever seen goes, he’s got a 
dead cinch.” 

“Ye mane he’s a banker ?” 

“Sure. The Pioneer in Rubio City. He started 
the game in the early days an’ he’s been a-rollin’ it 
up ever since. Hit’s plumb curious about this here 
financierin’ business,” continued Tex, in his slow, 
meditative way. “Looks to me mostly jest plain, 
common hold-up, only they do it with money ’stead of 
a gun. In the old days you used to get the drop on 
your man with your six, all regular, an’ take what 
he happened to have in his clothes. Then the posse’d 
get after you an’ mebbe string you up, which was all 
right, bein’ part of the game. Now these fellows like 
Jefferson Worth, they get’s your name on some 
writin’s an’ when you ain’t lookin’ they slips up an’ 
gets away with all your worldly possessions, an’ the 
sheriff he jest laughs an’ says hits good business. 
This here Worth man is jest about the coolest, 
smoothest, hardest proposition in the game. He fair 
makes my back hair raise. The common run o’ 
people ain’t got no more show stackin’ up agin Jef- 
ferson Worth than two-bits worth o’ ice has in hell. 
Accordin’ to my notion hit’s this here same finan- 
cierin’ game that’s a-ruinin’ the West. The cattle 
range is about all gone now. If they keeps it up we 
won’t be no better out here than some o’ them places 
I’ve heard about back East.” 

“ ’Tis a danged ignorant savage ye are, like the 
rest av yer thribe, wid yer talk av ruinin’ the West. 
Ewhat wud this counthry be without money? ’Tis 


26 


THE WIKNTJSTG OE BARBARA WORTH 


thim same financiers that have brung ye the rail- 
roads, an’ the cities, an’ the schools, an’ the churches, 
an’ all the other blessin’s an’ joys of civilization that 
ye’ve got to take whither ye likes ut or not. Look 
at the Seer, now. Fwhat could a man like him — an 
engineer, mind ye — fwhat could the Seer do widout 
the men wid money to hack him?” 

The Irishman’s words were answered by a cheerful 
“Whoa!” and a crash of the brakes as Texas Joe 
brought his team to a stand near the spring at the 
head of the canyon. “We camp here,” he announced. 
“This is the last water we strike until we make it over 
the Pass to Mountain Springs on the desert side. 
Jefferson Worth will he along with the Seer and his 
kid most any time now.” 

A little before dusk the hanker, with his two com- 
panions, arrived. 

“Hello, Pat!” The man who leaped from the 
buckboard and strode toward the waiting Irishman 
was tall and broad, with the head and chin of a 
soldier, and the brown eyes of a dreamer. He was 
dressed in rough corduroys, blue flannel shirt, laced 
boots, and Stetson, and he greeted the burly Irishman 
as a fellow-laborer. 

A joyful grin spread over the battered features 
of the gladiator as he grasped the Seer’s outstretched 
hand. “Well, dang me but ut’s glad I am to see ye, 
Sorr, in this divil’s own land. I had me natural 
doubts, av course, whin I woke up in the wagon, but 
ut’s all right. ’Tis proud I am to be abducted by ye, 
Sorr.” 


27 


THE WINNING OF BAKBARA WORTH 


“ Abducted !” The engineer’s langh awoke the 
echoes in the canyon. “It was a rescue, man !” 

“Well, well, let ut go at that! But tell me, 
Sorr” — he lowered his voice to a confidential rumble 
— “fwhat’s this I hear that ye have yer bhoy wid ye ? 
Sure I niver knew that ye was a man av family.” 
He looked toward the slender lad who, with the read- 
iness of a grown man, was helping the driver of the 
buckboard to unhitch his team of four broncos. 
“ ’Tis a good lad he is, or I’m a Dutchman.” 

“You’re right, Pat, Abe is a good boy,” the Seer 
answered gravely. “I picked him up in a mining 
camp on the edge of the Mojave Desert when I was 
running a line of preliminary surveys through that 
country for the S. and C. last year. He was born 
in the camp and his mother died when he was a baby. 
God knows how he pulled through ! You know what 
those mining places are. His father, Frank Lee, was 
killed in a drunken row while I was there, and Abe 
showed so much cool nerve and downright manliness 
that I offered him a place with my party. He has 
been with me ever since.” 

Pat’s voice was husky as he said: “I ax yer 
pardon, Sorr, for me blunderin’ impedence about yer 
bein’ a man av family. I’m a danged old rough-neck, 
wid no education but me two fists, an’ no manners at 
all.” 

The engineer’s reply was prevented by the ap- 
proach of Jefferson Worth who had been talking with 
Texas Joe. The banker’s head came but little above 
the Seer’s shoulders and in comparison with the 
Irishman’s heavy bulk he appeared almost insignia- 

28 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


cant, while his plain business suit of gray seemed 
altogether out of place in the wild surroundings. His 
smooth-shaven face was an expressionless gray mask 
and his deep-set gray eyes turned from the Irishman 
to the engineer without a hint of emotion. The two 
men felt that somewhere behind that gray mask they 
were being carefully estimated — measured — valued 
— as possible factors in some far-reaching plan. He 
spoke to the Seer, and his voice was without a sug- 
gestion of color: “I see that your friend has recov- 
ered.” It was as though he stated a fact that he had 
just verified. 

Laughing at the memory of the Irishman’s San 
Felipe experience, the engineer said: “Mr. Worth, 
permit me to introduce Mr. Patrick Mooney whom 
I have known for years as the best boss of a grading 
gang in the West. Pat, this is Mr. Jefferson Worth, 
president of the Pioneer Bank in Rubio City.” 

The Irishman clutched at his tattered hat-brim in 
embarrassed acknowledgment of the Seer’s formality. 
Jefferson Worth, from behind his gray mask, said in 
his exact, colorless voice: “He looks as though he 
ought to handle men.” 

As the banker passed on toward the big wagon the 
Irishman drew close to the Seer and whispered 
hoarsely: “Now fwhat the hell kind av a man is 
that? ’Tis the truth, Sorr, that whin he looked at 
me out av that grave-yard face I could bare kape 
from cross in’ mesilf!” 


29 


CHAPTER II. 


JEFFERSON WORTH’S OFFERING^ 

HEN" day broke over the topmost ridges of 
Ho Man’s Mountains, Jefferson Worth’s 
outfit was ready to move. The driver of the 
lighter rig with its four broncos set out for San 
Eelipe. On the front seat of the big wagon Texas 
Joe picked up his reins, sorted them carefully, and 
glanced over his shoulder at his employer. “All 
set ?” 

“Go ahead.” 

“You, Buck! Molly!” The lead mules straight- 
ened their traces. “Jack! Pete!” As the brake was 
released with a clash and rattle of iron rods, the 
wheelers threw their weight into their collars and 
the wagon moved ahead. 

Grim, tireless, world-old sentinels, N"o Man’s 
Mountains stood guard between the fertile land on 
their seaward side and the desolate forgotten wastes 
of the East. They said to the country of green life, 
of progress and growth and civilization, that marched 
to their line on the West, “Halt !” and it stopped. To 
the land of lean want, of gray death, of gaunt hunger, 
and torturing thirst, that crept to their feet on the 
other side, “Stop !” and it came no farther. With no 
land to till, no mineral to dig, their very poverty 
was their protection. With an air of grim finality, 



30 


THE WINKING OF BARBARA WORTH 


they declared strongly that as they had always been 
they would always remain ; and, at the beginning of 
my story, save for that one, slender, man-made trail, 
their hoary boast had remained unchallenged. 

Steadily, but with frequent rests on the grades, 
Jefferson Worth’s outfit climbed toward the summit 
and a little before noon gained the Pass. The loud, 
rattling rumble of the wagon as the tires bumped 
and ground over the stony, rock-floored way, with the 
sharp ring and clatter of the iron-shod hoofs of the 
team, echoed, echoed, and echoed again. Loudly, 
wildly, the rude sounds assaulted the stillness until 
the quiet seemed hopelessly shattered by the din. 
Softly, tamely, the sounds drifted away in the dear 
distance; through groves of live oak, thickets of 
greasewood, juniper, manzanita and sage ; into canyon 
and wash ; from bluff and ledge ; along slope and spur 
and shoulder ; over ridge and saddle and peak ; faint- 
ing, dying — the impotent sounds of man’s passing 
sank into the stillness and were lost. When the team 
halted for a brief rest it was in a moment as if the 
silence had never been broken. Grim, awful, the 
hills gave no signs of man’s presence, gave that creep- 
ing bit of life no heed. 

At Mountain Spring — a lonely little pool on the 
desert side of the huge wall — they stopped for dinner. 
When the meal was over, Texas Joe, with the assist- 
ance of Pat, filled the water barrels, while the boy 
busied himself with the canteen and the Seer and 
Jefferson Worth looked on. 

“ ’Tis a dhry counthry ahead, I’m thinkin’,’ y 


31 


THE WnrtTCNG OE BARBARA WORTH 




remarked the Irishman inquiringly as he lifted an- 
other dripping bucket. 

“fkrale,” returned Tex. “There are three water 
holes between here and the river where there’s water 
sometimes. Mostly, though, when you need it worst, 
there ain’t none there, an’ I reckon a dry water hole^ 
is about the most discouragin’ proposition there is. : 
They’ll all be dry this trip. There wasn’t nothin’ 
but mud at Wolf Wells when we come through last 
week.” 1 -h 

Again the barren rocks and the grim, forbidding 
hills echoed the loud sound of wheel and hoof. Down 
the steep flank of the mountain, with screaming, 
grinding brakes, they thundered and clattered into 
the narrow hall-way of Devil’s Canyon with its sheer 
walls and shadowy gloom. The little stream that 
trickled down from the tiny spot of green at the 
spring tried bravely to follow but soon sank ex- 
hausted into the dry waste. A cool wind, like a 
draft through a tunnel, was in their faces. After 
perhaps two hours of this the way widened out, the 
sides of the canyon grew lower with now and then 
gaps and breaks. Then the walls gave way to low, 
rounded hills, through which, the winding trail lay — 
a bed of sand and gravel — aiM hce and there ap- 
peared clumps of greasewood and cacti of several 
varieties. f 

At length they passed out from between the last of 
the foot-hills and suddenly — as though a mighty cur- 
tain were lifted — they faced the desert. At their 
feet the Mesa lay in a blaze of white sunlight, and 


32 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


beyond and below the edge of the bench the vast 
King’s Basin country. 

At the edge of the Mesa Texas halted his team and 
the little party looked out and away over those awful 
reaches of desolate solitude. The Seer and Pat 
uttered involuntary exclamations. Jefferson Worth, 
Texas, and Abe were silent, but the boy’s thin fea- 
tures were aglow with eager enthusiasm, and the 
face of the driver revealed an interest in the scene 
that years of familiarity could not entirely deaden, 
but the gray mask of the banker betrayed no emotion. 

In that view, of such magnitude that miles meant 
nothing, there was not a sign of man save the one 
slender thread of road that was so soon lost in the 
distance. From horizon to horizon^ so far that the 
eye ached in the effort to comprehend it, there was 
no cloud to cast a shadow, and the deep sky poured its 
resistless flood of light upon the vast dun plain with 
savage fury, as if to beat into helplessness any living 
creature that might chance to be caught thereon. 
And the desert, receiving that flood from the wide, 
hot sky, mysteriously wove with it soft scarfs of lilac, 
misty veils of purple and filmy curtains of rose and 
pearl and gold; strangely formed with it wide lakes 
of blue rimmed with phantom hills of red and violet 
— constantly changing, shifting, scene on scene, as 
dream pictures shift and change. 

Only the strange, silent life that, through long 
years, the desert had taught to endure its hardships 
was there — the lizard, horned-toad, lean jack-rabbit, 
gaunt coyote, and their kind. Only the hard growth 
that the ages had evolved dotted the floor of the Basin 


33 


THE WIKNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


in the near distance — the salt-bush and greasewood, 
with here and there clumps of mesquite. 

And over it all — over the strange hard life, the 
weird, constantly shifting scenes, the wondrous, ever- 
changing colors — was the dominant, insistent, com- 
pelling spirit of the land; a brooding, dreadful 
silence; a waiting — waiting — waiting; a mystic call 
that was at once a threat and a promise ; a still draw- 
ing of the line across which no man might go and 
live, save those master men who should win the right. 

After a while the engineer, pointing, said: “The 
line of the Southwestern and Continental must fol- 
low the base of those hills away over there — is that 
right, Texas ?” 

“That’ll he about it,” the driver answered. “I 
hear you’re goin’ through San Antonio Pass, an’ 
that’s to the north. Rubio City lies about here — ” 
he pointed a little south of east. “Our road runs 
through them sand hills that you can see shinin’ 
like gold a-way over there. Dry River Crossin’ is 
jest beyond. You can see Lone Mountain off here 
to the south. Hit’ll sure be some warm down there. 
Look at them dust- devil’s dancin’. An’ over there, 
where you see that yellow mist like, is a big sand 
storm. We ain’t likely to get a long one this time o' 
the year. But you can’t tell what this old desert ’ll 
do ; she’s sure some uncertain. La Palma de la Mano 
de Dios, the Injuns call it, and I always thought that 
- — all things considerin’ — the name fits mighty close. 
You can see hit’s jest a great big basin.” 

“The Hollow of God’s Hand.” repeated the Seer 


34 : 


THE WINJSflHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


in a low tone. He lifted his hat with an unconscious 
gesture of reverence. 

The Irishman, as the engineer translated, crossed 
himself. “Howly Mither, fwhat a name!” 

Jefferson Worth spoke. “Drive on, Texas.” 

And so, with the yellow dust-devils dancing along 
their road and that yellow cloud in the distance, they 
moved down the slope — down into The King’s Basin 
- — into La Palma de la Mano de Dios, The Hollow of 
God’s Hand. 

“Is that true, sir ?” asked Abe of the Seer. 

“Is what true, son?” 

“What Texas said about the ocean.” 

“Yes it’s true. The low r est point of this Basin is 
nearly three hundred feet below sea level. The 
railroad we are going to build follows right around 
the rim on the other side over there. This slope that 
we are going down now is the ancient beach.” Then, 
while they pushed on into the silence and the heat 
of that dreadful land, the engineer told the boy and 
his companions how the ages had wrought with river 
and wave and sun and wind to make The King’s 
Basin Desert. 

Wolf Wells they found dry as Texas had antici- 
pated. Phantom Lake also was dry. Occasionally 
they crossed dry, ancient water courses made by the 
river when the land was being formed; sometimes 
there were glassy, hard, bare alkali flats; again the 
trail led through jungle-like patches of desert growuh 
or twisted and wound between high hummocks. 
Always there was the wide, hot sky, the glaring flood 
of light unbroken by shadow masses to relieve the 


35 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


eye and reflected hotly from the sandy floor of the old 
sea-bed. 

That evening, when they made camp, a heavy mass 
of clouds hung over the top of Ho Man’s Mountains 
and the long Coast Range that walled in the Basin. 
Texas Joe, watching these clouds, said nothing; but 
when Pat threw on the ground the water left in his 
cup after drinking, the plainsman opened upon him 
with language that startled them all. 

The next day, noon found them in the first of the 
sand hills. There was no sign of vegetation here, 
for the huge mounds and ridges of white sand, piled 
like drifts of snow, were never quite still. Always 
they move eastward before the prevailing winds from 
the west. Through the greater part of the year they 
advance very slowly, but when the fierce gales sweep 
down from^he mountains they roll forward so swiftly 
that any object in their path is quickly buried in their 
smothering depths. 

In the middle of the afternoon Texas climbed to 
the top of a huge drift to look over the land. The 
others saw him stand a moment against the sky, 
gazing to the northwest, then he turned and slid 
down the steep side of the mound to the waiting 
wagon. 

i “She’s cornin’ !” he remarked, laconically, “an’ 
she’s a big one. I reckon we may as well get as far 
as we can.” 

1 A few minutes later they saw the sky behind them 
filling as with a golden mist. The atmosphere, dry 
and hot, seemed charged with mysterious, terrible 
power. The very mules tossed their heads uneasily 

36 


THE WIHHHsTG OF BARBARA WORTH 


and tugged at the reins as if they felt themselves 
pursued by some fearful thing. Straight and hard, 
with terrific velocity, the wind was coming down 
through the mountain passes and sweeping across the 
wide miles of desert, gathering the sand as it came. 
Swiftly the golden mist extended over their heads, 
a thick, yellow fog, through which the sun shone 
dully with a weird, unnatural light. Then the sting- 
ing, blinding, choking blast was upon them with 
pitiless, savage fury. In a moment all signs of the 
trail were obliterated. Over the high edges of the 
drift the sand curled and streamed like blizzard snow. 
About the outfit it whirled and eddied, cutting the 
faces of the men and forcing them, with closed -iVes, 
to gasp for breath. 

Of their own accord the mules stopped and Texas, 
shouted to Mr. Worth: “It ain’t no use for us to 
try to go on, sir. There ain’t no trail now, and we’d 
jest drift around.” 

As far from the lee of a drift as possible, all hands 
— under the desert man’s direction — worked to rig 
a tarpaulin on the windward side of zhe wagon. 
Then, with the mules unhitched and securely tied 
to the vehicle, the men crouched under their rude 
shelter. The Irishman was choking, coughing, sput- 
tering and cursing, the engineer laughed good- 
naturedly at their predicament, and Abe Lee grinned 
in sympathy, while Texas Joe accepted the situation 
grimly with the forbearance of long experience. But 
Jefferson Worth’s face was the same expressionless 
gray mask. He gave no hint of impatience at the 
delay; no uneasiness at the situation ; no annoyance 

37 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


at the discomfort. It was as though he had foreseen 
the situation and had prepared himself to meet it. 
“How long do you figure this will last, Tex?” he 
asked in his colorless voice. 

“Not more than three days,” returned the driver. 
“It may be over in three hours.” 

} The morning of the second day they crawled from 
their blankets beneath the wagon to find the sky 
clear and the air free from dust. Eagerly they pre- 
pared to move. Against their shelter the sand had 
drifted nearly to the top of the wheels, and the 
wagon-box itself was more than half filled. The 
hair, eye-brows, beard and clothing of the men were 
thickly coated with powdery dust, while every sign 
of the trail was gone and the wheels sank heavily into 
the soft sand. 

Three times Texas halted the laboring team and, 
climbing to the summit of a drift, determined his 
course by marks unknown to those who waited below. 
Again they stopped for the plainsman to take an 
observation, and this time the four in the wagon, 
watching the figure of the driver against the sky, 
saw him turn abruptly and come down to them with 
long plunging strides. Instinctively they knew that 
something unusual had come under his eye. 

, The Seer and Jefferson Worth spoke together. 
“What is it, Tex?” 

“A stray horse about a mile ahead.” 

For the first time Texas Joe uncoiled the long lash 
of his whip and his call “You, Buck! Molly!” w T as 
punctuated by pistol-like cracks that sounded 
strangely in the death-like silence of the sandy waste. 

38 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

As they came within sight of the strange horse the 
poor beast staggered wearily to meet the wagon — the 
broken strap of his halter swinging loosely from his 
low-hanging head. 

“Look at the poor baste, ” said Pat. “ ’Tis near 
dead he is wid thirst.” He leaped to the ground and 
started toward the water barrel in the rear of the 
wagon. 

“Hold on, Pat,” said the colorless voice of Jef- 
ferson Worth. And his words were followed by the 
report of Texas Joe’s forty-five. 

The Irishman turned to see the strange horse lying 
dead on the sand. “Fwhat the hell — ” he demanded 
hotly, but Texas was eyeing him coolly, and some- 
thing checked the anger of the Irishman. 

“You don’t seem to sabe,” drawled the man of the 
desert, replacing the empty shell in his gun. “There 
ain’t hardly enough water to carry us through now, 
an’ we may have to pick up this other outfit.” 

No one spoke as Pat climbed heavily back to his 
seat. 

For two miles the tracks of the strange horse were 
visible, then they were blotted out by the sand that 
had filled them. “He made that much since the 
blow,” was Texas’ slow comment. “How far we are 
from where he started is all guess.” 

As they pushed on, all eyes searched the country 
eagerly and before long they found the spot for which 
they looked. A light spring wagon with a piece of a 
halter strap tied to one of the wheels was more than 
half-buried by the sand in the lee of a high drift. 
There was a small water keg, empty, with its seams 


39 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


already beginning to open in the fierce beat of the 
sun, a “grub-box,” some bedding and part of a bale 
of bay — nothing more. 

Jefferson Worth, Pat and the boy attempted to dig 
in the steep side of the drift that rose above the 
half-buried outfit, but at their every movement tons 
of the dry sand came sliding down upon them. “It 
ain’t nc use, Mr. Worth,” said Texas, as the banker 
straightened up, baffled in his effort. “You will 
never know what’s buried in there until God 
Almighty uncovers it.” 

Then the man of the desert and plains read the 
story of the tragedy as though he had been an eye wit- 
ness. “They was travelin’ light an’ counted on makin’ 
good time. They must have counted, too, on, findin’ 
water in the hole.” He kicked the empty keg. “Their 
supply give out an’ then that sand-storm caught ’em 
and the horses broke loose. Of course they would 
go to hunt their stock, not darin’ to be left afoot and 
without water, an’ hits a thousand to one they never 
got back to the outfit. We’re takin’ too many 
chances ourselves to lose much time and I don’t 
reckon there’s any use, but we’d better look around 
maybe.” 

He directed the little party to scatter and to keep 
on the high ground so that they would not lose 
sight of each other. Until well on in the afternoon 
they searched the vicinity, but with no reward, while 
the hot sun, the dry burning waste and the glaring 
sands of the desert warned them that every hour’s 
delay might mean their own death. When they 
returned at last to the wagon, called in by Texas, no 


40 


THE WINNING OF BAEBARA WORTH 


one spoke. As they went on their way each was busy 
with his own thoughts of the grim evidence of the 
desert’s power. 

Another hour passed. Suddenly Texas halted the 
mules and, with an exclamation, leaped to the ground. 
The others saw that he was bending over a dim 
track in the sand. ( 

“My God ! men,” he shouted, “hit’s a woman.” 

For a short way he followed the foot-prints, then,, 
running back to the wagon and springing to his seat, 
swung his long whip and urged the team ahead. 

“Hit’s a woman,” he repeated. “When the others 
went away and didn’t come back she started ahead 
in the storm alone. She had got this far when the 
blow quit, leavin’ her tracks to show. We may — ” 
He urged his mules to greater effort. 

The prints of the woman’s shoe could be plainly 
leen now. “Look!” said Tex, pointing, “she’s stag- 
gerin’ Now she’s stopped! Whoa!” Throw- 

ing his weight on the lines he leaned over from 
his seat. “Look, men! Look there!” he cried, as 
he pointed. “She’s carryin’ a kid. See, there’s 
where she set it down for a rest.” It was all too 
dear. Beside the woman’s track were the prints of 
two baby shoes. 

The Seer, with a long breath, drew his hand across 
his sand-begrimed face. “Hurry, Tex. For God’s 
sake, hurry!” 

The Irishman was cursing fiercely in impotent 
rage, clenching and unclenching his huge, hairy 
fists. The boy cowered in his seat. But not a change 
came over the mask-like features of J efferson Worth. 


41 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Only the delicate, pointed fingers of his nervous 
hands caressed constantly his unshaven chin, fingered 
his clothing, or gripped the edge of the wagon seat 
as he leaned forward in his place. Texas — grim, 
cool, alert, his lean figure instinct now with action 
and his dark eyes alight — swung his long whip and 
handled his reins with a master’s skill, calling upon 
every atom of his team’s strength, while reading those 
tracks in the sand as one would scan a printed page. 

It was all written there — that story of mother 
love; where she staggered with fatigue; where she 
was forced to rest; where the baby walked a little 
way; and once or twice where the little one stum- 
bled and fell as the sand proved too heavy for the 
little feet. And all the while the desert, dragging 
with dead weight at the wheels, seemed to fight 
against them. It was as though the dreadful land 
knew that only time was needed to complete its 
work. Then the hot sun dropped beyond the purple 
wall of mountain and the mystery of the long twilight 
began. 

“Dry River Crossing is just ahead,” said Tex, 
and soon the outfit pitched down the steep bank of 
a deep wash that had been made in some forgotten 
age by an overflow of the great river. Occasionally, 
after the infrequent rains of winter, some water was 
to be found here in a hole under the high bank a 
short way from the trail. 

With a crash of brakes the team stopped at the 
bottom. The men, springing from the wagon and 
leaving the panting mules to stand with drooping 
heads, started to search the wash. But in a moment 


42 



He had lifted the canteen and was holding it upside down 




















. 






































Mt'JA 























































































































N 

















































































THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Texas shouted and the others quickly joined him 0 
Near the dry water hole lay the body of a woman, 
By her side was a small canteen. 

The engineer bent to examine the still form for 
3ome sign of life. 

“It ain’t no use, sir,” said Texas. “She’s gone.” 
He had lifted the canteen and was holding it upside 
down. With his finger he touched the mouth of the 
vessel and held out his hand. The finger was wet. 
“You see,” he said, “when her men-folks didn’t come 
back she started with the kid an’ what water she had. 
But she wouldn’t drink none herself, an’ the hard trip 
in the heat and sand carryin’ the baby, an’ findin’ 
the water hole dry was too much for her. If only we 
had known an’ come on, instead of huntin’ back there 
where it wasn’t no use, we’d a-been in time.” 

As the little party — speechless at the words of 
Texas — stood in the twilight, looking down upon 
the lifeless form, a chorus of wild, snarling, barking 
yowls, with long-drawn, shrill howls, broke on the 
still air. It was the coyotes’ evening call. To the 
silent men the weird sound seemed the triumphant 
cry of the Desert itself and they started in horror. 

Then from the dusky shadow of the high bank 
farther up the wash came another cry that broke the 
spell that was upon them and drew an answering 
shout from their lips as they ran forward. 

“Mamma ! Mamma ! Barba wants drink. Please 
bring drink, mamma. Barba’s ’fraid!” 

Jefferson Worth reached her first. Close under 
the bank, where she had wandered after “mamma” 
Jay down to sleep, and evidently just awakened from 


43 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


a tired nap by the coyotes’ cry, sat a little girl of 
not more than four years. Her brown hair was all 
tumbled and tossed, and her big brown eyes were 
wide with wondering fear at the four strange men 
and the boy who stood over her. 

“Mamma ! Mamma !” she whimpered, “Barba 
wants mamma.” 

Jefferson Worth knelt before her, holding out his 
hands, and his voice, as he spoke to the baby, made 
his companions look at him in wonder, it was so 
full of tenderness. 

The little girl fixed her big eyes questioningly upon 
the kneeling man. The others waited, breathless. 
Then suddenly, as if at something she saw in the 
gray face of the financier, the little one drew back 
with fear upon her baby features and in her baby 
voice. “Go ’way! Go ’way!” she cried. Then 
again, “Mamma! Barba wants mamma.” Jeffer- 
son Worth turned sadly away, his head bowed as 
though with disappointment or shame. 

The others, now, in turn tried to win her con- 
fidence. The plainsman and the Irishman she re- 
garded gravely, as she had looked at the banker, but 
without fear. The boy won a little smile, but she still 
held back — hesitating — reluctant. Then with a piti- 
ful little gesture of confidence and trust, she stretched 
forth her arms to the big brown-eyed engineer. 
“Barba wants drink,” she said, and the Seer took 
her in his arms. 

At the wagon it was Jefferson Worth who offered 
her a tin cup of water, but again she shrank fron? 
him, throwing her arms about the neck of the Seer, 


44 


THE WINKING OF BARBARA WORTH 


The engineer, taking the cup from the bankers 
hands, gave her a drink. 

While Mr. Worth and the boy prepared a hasty 
meal, Texas fed his team and the Irishman, going 
back a short distance, made still another grave beside 
the road already marked by so many. The child — 
still in the engineer’s arms — ate hungrily, and when 
the meal was over he took her to the wagon, w T hile 
the others, with a lantern, returned to the still form 
by the dry water hole. At the banker’s suggestion, 
a thorough examination of the woman’s clothing was 
made for some clue to her identity, but no mark 
was found. With careful hands they reverently 
wrapped the body in a blanket and laid it away in its 
rude, sandy bed. 

When the grave was filled and protected as best it 
could be, a short consultation was held. Mr. Worth 
wished to return to the half buried outfit to make 
another effort to learn the identity of the Desert’s 
victim, but Texas refused. “ ’Tain’t that I ain’t 
willin’ to do what’s right,” he said, “but you see 
how that sand acted. Why, Mr. Worth, you couldn’t 
move that there drift in a year, an’ you know it. I 
jest gave the mules the last water they’ll get an’ we’re 
goin’ to have all we can do to make it through as it is. 
If we wait to go back there ain’t one chance in a 
hundred that we-all ’ll ever see Rubio City again. 
It ain’t sense to risk killin’ the kid when we’ve got 
a chance to save her — jest on a slim chance o’ findin’ 
out who she is.” 

Returning to the outfit they very quietly — so as 
mot to awaken the sleeping child — hitched the team 

45 


THE WINNING OF BAEBAEA WOETH 


to the wagon and took their places. As the mules 
started the baby stirred uneasily in the Seer’s arms 
and murmured sleepily: “Mamma.” But the low v 
soothing tones of the big man calmed her and she 
slept. 

Hour after hour of the long night dragged by. 
They had left the sand hills behind three miles before 
they reached Dry Eiver and now the wide, level 
reaches of the thinly covered plain, forbidding and 
ghostly under the stars, seemed to stretch away on 
every side into infinite space. Involuntarily all the 
members of the little party, except Texas Joe, 
strained their eyes looking into the blank, silent 
distance for lights, and, as they looked, they turned 
their heads constantly to listen for some sound of 
human life. But in all that vast expanse there was 
no light save the light of the stars ; in all that silent 
waste there was no sound save the occasional call of 
the coyote, the plaintive, quivering note of the 
ground-owls, the muffled fall of the mules’ feet in the 
soft earth, and the dull chuck, creak, and rumble of 
the wagon with the clink of trace chains and the 
squeak of straining harness leather. And always it 
was as though that dreadful land clung to them with 
heavy hands, matching its strength against the 
t strength of these who braved its silent threat, seeking 
’to hold them as it held so many others. The men 
spoke rarely and then in low tones. The baby in the 
Seer’s arms slept. Only Texas, and perhaps his 
team, knew how they kept the dimly marked trail 
that led to life. Perhaps Texas himself did not 
know. 


46 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


At daybreak they halted for a brief rest and for 
breakfast. The child ate with the others, but still 
clung to the engineer, and while asking often for 
“mamma,” seemed to trust her big protector fully t 
From the shelter of his arms she even smiled at the 
efforts of Texas, Pat and the boy to amuse and keep 
her attention from her loss. From Jefferson Worth 
she still shrank in fear and the others wondered 
at the pain in that gray face as all his efforts to win 
a smile or a kind look from the baby were steadily 
repulsed. 

It was Texas who, when they halted, poured the 
last of the water from the barrel into the canteen and 
carefully measured out to each a small portion. It 
was Texas now who gave the word to start again on 
their journey. And when the desert man placed the 
canteen with their meager supply of water in the cor- 
ner of the wagon-box under his own feet the others 
understood and made no comment. 

At noon, when each was given his carefully meas- 
ured portion from the canteen, Jefferson Worth, 
before they could check him, wet his handkerchief 
with his share of the water and gave it to the Seer tc 
wipe the dust from the hot little face of the child. 
The eyes of the big engineer filled and Texas, with 
an oath that was more reverent than profane, poured 
another measure and forced the banker to drink. 

As the long, hot, thirsty hours of that afternoon 
dragged slowly past, the faces of the men grew worn 
and haggard. The two days and nights in the trying 
storm, the exertion of their search among the sand 
hills, the excitement of finding the woman’s body 

47 


THE WIKNTHG OE BARBARA WORTH 

and the discovery of the child, followed by the long 
sleepless night, and now the hard, hot, dreary hours 
of the struggle with the Desert that seemed to gather 
all its dreadful strength against them, were beginning 
to tell. Texas Joe, forced to give constant attention 
to his team and hardened by years of experience,; 
showed the strain least, while Pat, unfitted for such 
a trial by his protracted spree in San Felipe, un- 
doubtedly suffered most. 

After dinner the Irishman sat motionless in his 
place with downcast face, lifting his head only at 
long intervals to gaze with fierce hot eyes upon the 
barren landscape, while muttering to himself in a 
growling undertone. Later he seemed to sink into a 
stupor and appeared to be scarcely conscious of his 
companions. Suddenly he roused himself and, bend* 
ing forward with a quick motion, reached the 
canteen from under the driver’s seat. In the act of 
unscrewing the cap he was halted by the calm voice 
of Texas : “Put that back.” 

“Go to hell wid ye ! I’m no sun-dried herrin’.” 

The cap came loose, but as he raised the canteen 
and lifted his face with open parched lips he looked 
straight into the muzzle of the big forty-five and 
back of the gun into the steady eyes of the plains- 
man. “I’m sorry, pard, but you can’t do it.” 

For an instant the Irishman sat as if suddenly 
turned to stone. The water was within reach of 
his lips, but over the canteen certain death looked at 
him, for there was no mistaking the expression on the 
face of that man with the gun. Beside himself with 
thirst, forgetting everything but the water, and 


48 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


utterly reckless he growled: “Shoot an’ be domned, 
ye murderin’ savage!” and again started to lift the 
cloth-covered vessel. 

At that instant the baby, catching sight of the can- 
teen, called from the rear seat : “Barba wants drink. 
Barba thirsty, too.” 

As though Texas had pulled the trigger the Irish- 
man dropped his hand. Slowly he looked from face 
to face of his companions — a dazed expression on his 
own countenance, as though he were awakening from 
a dream. The child, clinging to the Seer with one 
hand and pointing with the other, said again : 
“Barba thirsty ; please give Barba drink.” 

A look of horror and shame went over the face of 
the Irishman, his form shook like a leaf and his 
trembling hands could scarcely hold the canteen. 
“My Gawd! bhoys,” he cried, “fwhat’s this I was 
doin’?” Then he burst suddenly upon Tex with: 
“Why the hell don’t ye shoot, domn ye? A baste 
like me is fit for nothin’ but to rot in this Gawd- 
forsaken land!” 

The fierce rage of the man at his own act was 
pitiful. Texas dropped his gun into the holster and 
turned his face away. Jefferson Worth held out a 
cup. “Give the little one some water, Pat,” he said, 
in his cold, exact way. 

With shaking hands the Irishman poured a little 
into the cup and, screwing the cap back on the can- 
teen, he returned it to its place. Then with a groan 
he bowed his face in his great, hairy hands. 

Just before sun-down they climbed up the ancient 
beach line to the rim of the Basin and the Mesa on 


49 


THE WINNING OF BAEBAEA WOKTH 


the east Halting here for a brief rest and for 
supper, they looked back over the low, wide land 
through which they had come. All along the western 
sky and far to the southward, the wall-like moun- 
tains lifted their purple heights from the dun plain, 
a seemingly impassable barrier, shutting in the land 
of death; shutting out the life that came to their 
tfeet on the other side. To the north the hills that 
rim the Basin caught the slanting rays of the setting 
sun and glowed rose-color, and pink, and salmon, 
with deep purple shadows where canyons opened, all 
rising out of drifts of silvery light. To the north- 
west two distant, gleaming, snow-capped peaks of 
the Coast Eange marked San Antonio Pass. To 
the west Lone Mountain showed dark blue against 
the purple of the hills beyond. Down in the desert 
basin, drifting above and woven through the ever- 
shifting masses of color, shimmering phantom lakes, 
and dull, dusky patches of green and brown, long 
streamers, bars and threads of dust shone like gleam- 
ing gold. 

Texas Joe, when he had poured for each his por- 
tion of water, shook the canteen carefully, and a 
smile spread slowly over his sun-blackened features. 
“What’s left belongs to the kid,” he said. “But we’ll 
make it. We’ll jest about make it.” 

The Irishman lifted his cup toward the Desert, 
saying solemnly: “Here’s to ye, domn ye ! Ye ain’t 
got us yet. May ye burn an’ blishther an’ scorch an’ 
bake ’til yer danged heart shrivels up an’ blows 
away.” 

Then he fell to amusing the child with loving fun- 


50 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


talk and queer antics, until she laughed aloud and 
permitted him to catch her up in his big hairy hands 
and to toss her high in the air. Texas and Abe, 
joining in the frolic, shared with Pat the little lady’s 
favor, while the Seer looked smilingly on. But when 
Jefferson Worth approached, with an offering of 
pretty stones and shells which he had gathered on 
the old beach, she ran up to the engineer’s arms. 
Still coaxing, the banker held out his offering. The 
others were silent, watching. Timidly at last, the 
child put forth her little hands and accepted the gift, 
shrinking back quickly with her treasures to the shel- 
ter of the big man’s arms. 

It was just after noon the next day when the men 
at the wagon yard on the edge of Rubio City looked 
up to see Jefferson Worth’s outfit approaching. The 
dust-covered, nearly-exhausted team staggered weakly 
through the gate. On the driver’s seat sat a haggard, 
begrimed figure holding the reins in his right hand ; 
and in his lap, supported by his free arm, a little girl 
lay fast asleep. Then as one of the mules lay down, 
the men went forward on the run. 

Texas stared at them dully for a moment. Then, 
as he dropped the reins, his parched, cracked lips 
parted in what was meant for a smile and he said, in 
a thick, choking whisper: “We made it, boys: we 
jest made it. Somebody take the kid.” 

Eager hands relieved him of his burden and he 
slid heavily to the ground to stand dizzily holding on 
t<“ a wheel for support. 

One of the men said sharply: “But where’s Mr, 


THE WINNING OF BAEBAEA WOETH 


Worth, Tex? What have you done with Jefferson 
Worth an’ what you doin , with a kid ?” 

Texas Joe gazed at the questioner steadily as if 
summoning all his strength of will in an effort to 
think. “Hello, Jack! Why — damned if I know — 
he was with me a little while ago.” 

The engineer, the banker, the Irishman and the 
hoy were lying unconscious on the bottom of the 
wagon. 


CHAPTER III. 

MISS BARBARA WORTH. 

WORTH, sitting on the wide veranda of 
Jgfnjj her home after a lonely supper, lifted her 
IrSFi eyes frequently from the work in her lap to 
look down the street. Perhaps it was unusual for a 
banker’s wife to be darning her husband’s socks; it 
may be, even, that bankers do not usually wear socks 
that have been darned. But Mrs. Worth was not 
sensible that her task was at all strange. 

A group of dust-covered cow-boys, coming into 
town for an evening’s pleasure, jogged past with loud 
laughter and soft-clinking spurs and bridle-chains. 
“There’s Jefferson Worth’s place,” said one. “D’ye 
reckon he’ll make good corralin’ all the money there 
is in the world ?” 

How and then a carriage, filled with well-to-do 
citizens out for an evening ride, drove slowly by. 
The people in the carriages always saluted Mrs. 
Worth and she returned their salutations with a prim 
little bow. But no one stopped to chat or to offer 
her a seat. In this, also, there was nothing strange 
to the woman on the porch of the big, empty house. 
Sometimes the people in the carriages, entertaining 
visiting friends, pointed to Jefferson Worth’s house, 
with proper explanations, as they also called attention 
to the Pioneer Bank — Jefferson Worth’s bank. 


53 



THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 

When dusk came and she could no longer see, Mrs. 
Worth laid aside her work and sat with folded hands, 
her face turned down the street. Inside the house 
the lights were not yet on; there was no need for 
them and she liked to sit in the dark. 

The Indian servant woman came softly to the door. 
“Does the Senora wish anything ?” 

“Ho, thank you, Ynez; come and sit down.” 

Hoiselesslv the woman seated herself on the top 
step. 

“It has been warm to-day, Ynez.” 

“Si, Senora.” 

“It is nearly three weeks since Mr. Worth left with 
Texas Joe for San Felipe, Ynez.” 

“Si, Senora.” 

j “Do you know how far it is across the Desert to 
San Felipe ?” 

“Si. I think three — four day, maybe five, Senora.” 

“It will be very hot.” 

“Si, Senora. Las’ year my sister’s man — Jose — 
go for San Felipe. Ho much water. He no come 
back.” 

“Yes, I remember. What is it your people call 
The King’s Basin Desert? The Hollow of God’s 
Hand, isn’t it ?” 

“Si, Senora. La Palma de la Mano de Dios.” 

“I wish they would come.” 

“He come pretty quick, I think. Mebbe so he noii 
start when he think. Mebbe so what you call ‘bees* 
ness’ not let him come,” said the Indian woman, 
soothingly. 


54 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


“But Mr. Worth expected to be back two days age 
and he is always on time, you know, Ynez.” 

“Si, Senora. But mebbe so this one time differ- 
ent” 

“I do wish they would Look, Ynez, look! 

There’s some one stopping !” 

A carriage was turning in toward the house. 

“It is Senor Worth,” said the Indian woman. 

“Someone is with him, Ynez. They have a child.” 

As Jefferson Worth and the Seer came up the 
walk — the engineer carrying the little girl — Mrs. 
Worth rose unsteadily to her feet. “Run, quick, 
Ynez — quick ! The lights !” 

That night when the Seer, with everything possible 
done for his comfort, had retired, and the baby — ■ 
bathed and fed — was sound asleep in a child’s bed 
that Ynez had brought from an unused room in the 
banker’s big house and placed in Mrs. Worth’s own 
chamber, Jefferson Worth and his wife crept softly 
to the little girl’s bedside. Silently they looked at 
the baby form under the snow-white coverlet and at 
the round, baby face, with the tumbled brown hair, 
on the pillow. 

Mrs. Worth clasped her hands in eager longing as 
she whispered: “Oh, Jeff, can we keep her? Can 
we ?” 

Jefferson Worth answered in his careful manners 
“Did you look for marks on her clothing ?” 

“There was nothing — not a letter even. And all 
that she can tell of her name is Barba. I’m sure she 
means Barbara.” As she answered, Mrs. Worth 
searched her husband’s face anxiously. Then she 


55 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


exclaimed: “Oh you do want her; you do!” and 
added wistfully: “Of course we must try to find 
her folks, but do you think it very wrong, Jeff, to 
wish — to wish that we never do? I feel as though 
she were sent to take the place of our own little girl. 
We need her so, Jeff. I need her so — and you — you 
will need her, when — ” There was a day coming 
that the banker and his wife did not talk about. 
Since the birth and death of their one child, Mrs. 
Worth had been a hopeless invalid. 

Several weeks passed and every effort to find little 
Barbara’s people was fruitless. Inquiry in Rubio 
City and San Felipe and through the newspapers on 
the Coast brought no returns. The land in those 
days was a land of strangers where people came and 
went with little notice and were lost quickly in the 
ever-restless tide. It was not at all strange, that no 
one could identify an outfit of which it was possible 
to tell only of a woman and child and one bay horse. 
There were many outfits with a woman and child in 
the party and many that had among the two, four, 
six, or more animals one bay horse. 

In the meantime, little Barbara, in her new home, 
was growing gradually away from all that had gone 
before her long ride in the big wagon with the men. 
Already she was beginning to talk of her “other 
mamma and papa.” Mrs. Worth slipped into the 
other woman’s place in the childish heart, even as 
little Barbara filled the empty mother-heart of the 
woman. 

Toward Mr. Worth, though she no longer shrank 
from him in fear, the little girl maintained an atti- 


56 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


tude of questioning regard. With Texas or Pat or 
the boy Abe, who often went together to see her, she 
laughed and chattered like a good little comrade and 
play-fellow. But when the Seer came, as he did 
whenever his duties and his presence in town would 
permit, she flew to him with eager love, climbing on 
his knee or snuggling under his arm with entire con- 
fidence and understanding. 

Public interest in Rubio City, keen at first, died 
out quickly. Rubio City, in those days of railroad 
building, had too many things of interest to retain 
any one thing long. Still, because it was Jefferson 
Worth, Rubio City could not altogether drop the 
matter. So it was one evening in the Gold Bar 
saloon, where Pat, coming into town for a quiet 
evening from the grading camp on the new road, and 
Texas Joe, who was just back from another trip 
across the Desert, were having a friendly glass in a 
quiet corner. 

“Is there anythin’ doin’ in that San Felipe I don’t 
know ?” was Pat’s natural question. “Things is that 
slow in this dinged town I’m gettin’ all dead on me 
insides.” 

Texas grinned in his slow way. “There’ll be 
another pay day before long.” 

“Yes, an’ ’tis ye that’ll be ’round agin to kape 
me from proper enjoyment av the blissin’s av civiliza= 
tion wid yer talk av the gold that’s to be found in 
thim mountains that nobody but ye knows where 
they are. ’Tis a fool I am to be listenin’ to yer 
crazy drames.” 

“Just keep your shirt on a little longer, pard/’ 

57 


THE WISHING OF BARBARA WORTH 


returned the other soothingly. “We’ve most enough 
for a grub-stake now. When we’re a little mite better 
fixed we’ll pull out of this sinful land o’ temptation 
an’ when we come back” — he drew a long breath — 
“we’ll do the thing up proper.” 

Pat dropped his glass with a thump. “We will,” 
he said. “We will that. An’ it’s to San Felipe we’ll 
go. Tell me, did you see no wan there inquirin’ 
afther me good health this last thrip ?” 

“I kept away from Sailor Mike’s place, not wishin’ 
to deprive you of your share o’ the sport. But I met 
a big policeman who said: ‘Tell that red-headed 
Irish bum that it’ll be better for his health to stay 
away from San Felipe.’ ” 

“He did, did he? He towld ye that? The big 
slob! He knows ut will be better for him. Fwhat 
did ye tell him ?” 

“I said you’d decided to locate here permanent.” 

Pat gasped for breath. “Ye towld him that ! Ye 
did ! Yer a danged sun-baked herrin’ av a man wid 
no proper spirit at all. Fwhat the hell do ye mane 
to be so slanderin’ me reputation an’ two or three 
hundred miles av disert between me an’ him ? For a 
sup av wather I’d go to ye wid me two hands.” 

Texas Joe laughed outright. “Let’s have another 
drink instead,” he said. 

In the silence occasioned by the re-filling of their 
glasses the two friends caught the name of Jefferson 
Worth. Instantly their attention was attracted to a 
well-dressed, smart-looking stranger, who stood at the 
bar talking loudly to a man known to Rubio City 
as a promoter of somewhat doubtful mining schemes. 

58 


THE WINNING OF BARBAKA WORTH 


Pat and Texas listened with amused interest while 
the two in concert cursed Jefferson Worth with care- 
ful and exhaustive attention to details. 

“Go to it, gentlemen!” put in the bar-keeper, as 
he returned to his place from the table in the corner. 
“W T e-all sure endorses your opinions. Have one on 
the house.” He graciously helped them to more 
liquor. 

“Brother Worth sure stands high with this here 
congregation,” drawled Texas Joe to his companion. 

“Hst !” whispered Pat. “They’re askin’ afther the 
kid.” The casual, amused interest of the two friends 
became intense. 

“They sure tried everything to find her folks,” the 
saloon man was saying, “but there ain’t nothin’ doin’ 
so far. They say if nobody shows up with a claim 
Jefferson Worth is goin’ to adopt her an’ bring her 
up like his own.” 

This statement of Jefferson Worth’s intentions 
called forth from the stranger an exhaustive opinion 
as to the banker’s fitness to have the child and her 
probable chances for right training and happiness in 
the financier’s hands. His remarks being cordially 
commended by the promoter and the man in the white 
apron, the speaker was encouraged to strengthen his 
position in reference to the future of this poor, help- 
less orphan and to point out freely the duties of 
Rubio City in the matter. He was interrupted by a 
light hand on his shoulder. Turning with a start 
that spilled the liquor in his glass, he looked into 
the lean face of Texas Joe. Behind the plainsman 
stood the heavy form of the Irishman, a look of 


59 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


pleased anticipation on his battle-scarred features. 
There was a sudden sympathetic hush in the room. 
Every face was turned toward the group. 

“Excuse me, stranger,” said Texas, in his softest 
tones; “but I sure am moved to testify in this here 
meetin’.” f 

The man would have made some angry, blustering; 
reply, but a warning look from the promoter and a' 
slight cough from the bar-tender checked him. 

Tex proceeded. “That you-all has rights to your 
opinion regardin’ Mr. Jefferson Worth’s character 
I ain’t denyin’, an’ there’s plenty in Rubio City 
that’ll agree with you. Mebbe you has reasons for 
feelin’ grieved. I don’t sabe this here business game 
nohow. Mebbe you stacked the deck an’ he caught 
you at it. You sure impresses me that a-way, for 
I’ve noticed that it ain’t the sport who plays fair or 
loses fair that squeals loudest when the cards are 
agin him. But when you touches on said Jefferson 
Worth an’ the future of that little kid, with free 
remarks on the duties of Rubio City regardin’ the 
same, you’re sure gettin’ around where I live. Me 
an’ this gent here” — he waved his hand toward Pat 
with elaborate formality, to the huge delight of his 
'audience — “me an’ this here gent is first uncles to 
that kid, an’ any pop-eyed, lop-eared, greasy-fingered f 
cross between a coyot’ an’ a jack-rabbit that comes ! 
a-pouncin’ out o’ the wilds o’ civilization to jumpj 
our claim by makin’ insinuations that we ain’t com- 1 
petent to see that the aforementioned kid has proper 
bringin’ up an’ that Brother Worth ain’t a proper 
daddy for her, had best come loaded for trouble. 


60 


THE WIMIIG OF BARBARA WORTH 

For trouble’ll sure camp on bis trail ’til be’s reformed 
or been safely planted.” 

In the significant pause that followed no one 
moved. Texas stood easily, looking into the eyes of 
the stranger. Pat shot fierce, watchful glances 
around the room, from face to face. 

“I trust you get’s the force o’ my remarks,” con- 
eluded Texas suggestively. 

The stranger moved uneasily and looked hurriedly 
about for signs of sympathy or assistance. Every 
f ace was a blank. Texas waited. 

“I suppose I was hasty,” said the stranger, sul- 
lenly. “I beg your pardon, gentlemen.” 

“Consider the meetin’ dismissed, gentlemen,” said 
Texas, easily. “Me an’ my pardner trusts that the 
congregation will treasure our remarks in the future 0 
Now, you bar-tender, everybody drinks on us to the 
health and happiness of our respected niece — Miss 
Barbara Worth.” 

On the street a few minutes later Pat growled his 
disappointment. “The divil take a man wid no 
bowels.” 

Ignoring his friend’s complaint, Texas returned 
meditatively: “Do you think, Pat, that there might 
be anything in what that there gent said ? In spite 
o’ what we seen of him on that trip, Jefferson Worth 
is sure a cold proposition. Give it to me straight 
What will he do for the little one ?” 

“An’ it’s just fwhat we see’d on that thrip that 
makes me think ut’s a question av fwhat the little 
girl will do to him,” answered Pat, thereby sustain- 
ing the reputation of his race. 

61 


CHAPTER IV. 


YOU'D BETTER MAKE IT NINETY, 

IETEEH years of a changing age left few 
marks on Rubio City. Luxurious overland 
trains, filled with tourists, now stopped at 
the depot where, under the pepper trees, sadly civ- 
ilized Indians sold Kansas City and Hew Jersey- 
made curios — stopped and went on again along the 
rim of The King’s Basin, through San Antonio 
Pass to the great cities on the western edge of the 
continent. But the town on the banks of the Colo- 
rado, in an almost rainless land, had little to build 
upon. Still on the street mingled the old-timers 
from desert, mountain and plain; from prospecting 
trip, mine or ranch; the adventurer, the promoter, 
the Indian, the Mexican, the frontier business man 
and the tourist. 

But there were few of the citizens of Rubio City 
now who knew the story of the baby girl whom 
Jefferson Worth and his party had found in La 
Palma de la Mano de Bios. For, though Rubio City 
was changed but little since that day when Texas 
Joe brought the outfit with the child safely out of 
the Desert, the people came and went always as is 
the manner of their moving kind. The few “old- 
timers” who remained had long ceased to tell the 
story. Ho one thought of the young woman, who 

62 



THE WINDING OF BARBARA WORTH 

rode down the street that afternoon, save only as the 
daughter of Jefferson Worth. 

As she passed, the people turned to follow her with 
their eyes — the “old-timers” with smiles of recog 
ni£ion and picturesque words of admiring comment; 
the townspeople with cheerful greetings— -a wave of 
the hand or a nod when they caught her eye; the 
strangers from the East with curious interest and 
ready kodaks. Here, the visitors told themselves^ 
was the real West. 

/’'How interesting!” gasped a tailor-made woman 
tourist to her escort. “Look, George, she is wearing 
a divided skirt and riding a man’s saddle! And 
look ! quick ! where’s your camera ? She has a 
revolver !” 

jjhat revolver, a dainty but effective pearl-handled 
wi^ion, was a gift to Barbara from her “uncles,” 
Te^ts and Pat; and though ornamental was not for 
ornament. The girl often went alone, as she was 
going to-day, for a long ride out on the Mesa, and 
the country still harbored many wild and lawless 
characters. 

But the tailored woman tourist did not need to 
urge George to look. There was something about the 
girl on the quick-stepping, spirited horse that chal- 
lenged attention. The khaki-clad figure was so richly 
alive — there was such a wealth of vitality; such an 
abundance of young woman’s strength; such a glow 
of red blood expressed in every curved line and 
revealed in every graceful movement — that the 
attraction was irresistible. To look at Barbara 
Worth was a pleasure ; to be near her was a delight 


63 


THE WIKNTSTG OE BARBARA WORTH - 


At the Pioneer Bank the girl checked her h; orse 
and, swinging lightly to the ground, threw the r« sins 
over the animal’s head, thus tying him in wes tern 
fashion. As she stood now on the sidewalk laugh ung 
and chatting with a group of friends, who had 
paused in passing to greet her, her beautiful fif £ure 
lost none of the compelling charm that made her , on 
horseback, so good to look at. Every movement p and 
gesture expressed perfect health. The firm flesjih of 
her rounded cheeks and full throat was wa _ ’mly 
browned and glowing with the abundance of red 
blood in her veins. Though framed in a maps of 
waving brown hair under a wide sombrero, her) fea- 
tures were not pretty. The mouth was perhaps a 
bit too large, though it was a good mouth, a^dth as 
she laughed with her companions, revealed teelpkhat 
were faultless. But something looked out j ai(iiliier 
brown eyes and made itself felt in every pox^ieand 
movement that forced one to forget to be critical. It 
was the wholesome, challenging lure of an unmarred 
womanhood. 

“Oh, Barbara, how could you — how could you 
miss last Thursday afternoon at Miss Colson’s? We 
had a perfectly lovely time!” cried a vivacious mem- 
ber of the little group. 

“Yes indeed, young lady; explanations are in 
order,” added another. “Miss Colson didn’t like it 
a bit. She had an exquisite luncheon, and you know 
how people depend upon your appreciation of good 
things to eat !” 

“Well, you see,” answered Barbara, turning to pat 
her horse’s neck as the animal, edging closer to her 

64 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


side, rubbed his soft muzzle coaxingly against her 
shoulder, “Pilot and I were out on the Mesa and he 
said he didn’t want to come back. Pilot doesn’t care 
at all for afternoon parties, do you old boy ?” — with 
another pat — “so what could I do ? I didn’t like to 
hurt Miss Colson’s feelings, of course, but I didn’t 
like to hurt Pilot’s feelings either; and the day was 
so perfect and Pilot was feeling so good and we were , 
having such fun together! I guess it was a case of 
‘a bird in the hand,’ or ‘possession being nine points,’ 
you know; or something like that. Only for pity’s 
sake, girls, don’t tell Miss Colson I said that.” 

They all laughed understandingly and the viva- 
cious one said: “I guess it was possession all right. 
Could anything on earth induce you to give up your 
horse and your desert, Barbara ?” 

Inside the bank Jefferson Worth, with his cus- 
tomary careful, exact manner, was explaining to a 
small rancher that it was impossible to extend the 
loan secured by a mortgage on the farmer’s property. 
Personally Mr. Worth would be glad to accommodate 
him. But the loan had already been extended three 
times and there were good reasons why the bank must 
sail it in. The farmer must remember that a bank’s 
futy to its stockholders and depositors was sacred. 
Ct was not a question of the farmer’s honesty ; it was 
altogether a question of Good Business. 

The farmer was agitated and presented his case 
desperately. Mr. Worth knew the situation — the 
unforeseen circumstances that made it impossible for 
him to pay then. Only two months more were needed 

until his new crop matured. He could not blame 


65 


THE WISHING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Mr. Worth, of course. He understood that it was 
business, but still — The farmer searched that cold, 
mask-like face for a ray of hope as a man might hold 
out his hands for pity to a machine. He was made 
to feel somehow that the banker was not a man with 
human blood, but a mechanical something, governed 
land run by a mighty irresistible power with which 
it had nothing to do save to obey as a locomotive 
obeys its steam. 

Jefferson Worth began explaining again in exact, 
precise tones that the loan, wholly for business 
reasons, was impossible, when Barbara entered the 
bank. As the girl greeted the teller in front, her 
voice, full and rich, with the same unconscious power 
that looked out of her eyes and spoke in every move- 
ment of her body, came through the bronze grating 
at the window and carried down the room. Jefferson 
Worth paused. With the farmer he faced the open 
door of his apartment. Every man in the place 
looked up. The desk-weary clerks smilingly answered 
her greeting and turned back to their books with 
renewed energy. The cashier straightened up from 
his papers and — leaning back in his chair — ex- 
changed a jest with her as she passed. 

“Oh, excuse me, father, I thought you were alone. 
How do you do, Mr. Wheeler? And how is Mrs 
Wheeler and that dear little baby ?” 

The man’s face lighted, his form straightened, his 
voice rang out heartily. “Fine, Miss Barbara, fine, 
thank you. All we need in the world now is for 
your father to give me time enough on that blamed 
aote to make a crop.” 


66 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Barbara Worth was just tall enough to look 
straight into her father’s eyes. As she looked at him 
now the banker felt a little as he had felt that night 
in the Desert, when the baby, whose dead mother 
lay beside the dry water hole, shrank back from him 
in fear. 

“Oh, I’m sure father will be glad to do that,” the 
girl said eagerly. “Won’t you fatLer? You know 
how hard Mr. Wheeler works and what trouble he 
has had. And I want some money, too,” she added ; 
“that’s what I came in for.” 

The farmer laughed loudly. Jefferson Worth 
smiled. 

“But I don’t want it for myself,” Barbara went 
on quickly, smiling at them both. “I want it for 
that poor Meccan family down by the wagon yard 
— the Garcias. Pablo’s leg was broken in the mines, 
you know, ard there is no one to look after his mother 
and the children. Someone must care for them.” 

They were interrupted by a clerk who handed a 
paper t© the banker. “This is ready for your 
signature, sir.” 

Jefferson Worth’s face was again a cold, gray 
mask. Methodically he affixed his name to the docu- 
ment. Then to the clerk: “You may give Miss 
Worth whatever money she wants.” 

The employe smiled as he answered: “Yes, sir,” 
and withdrew. 

Barbara turned to follow. “Good-by, Mr. Wheeler. 
Tell Mrs. Wheeler I’m going to ride out to see her 
soon. I haven’t forgotten that good buttermilk you 

OAA ^ 

:67 


THE WINDING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“Good-by, Miss Barbara, good-by! Fll tell the 
wife. We’re always glad to see you.” 

The farmer could not have said that Jefferson 
Worth’s face changed or that his voice altered a shade 
in tone as they turned again to the business in hand 
“I guess we can fix you out this time, Wheeler. 
Sixty days, you say? You’d better make it ninety 
so you will not be crowded in marketing your crop/* 

Quickly the black horse carrying Barbara passed 
through the streets to the outskirts of the city, where 
the adobe houses of the earlier days, with tents and 
shacks of every description, were scattered in careless 
disorder to the very edge of the barren Mesa. Beyond 
the wagon yard Barbara turned Pilot toward a white- 
washed house that stood by itself on the extreme 
outskirts. Her approach was announced by the loud 
barking of a lean dog and the joyful shouts of three 
half-naked Mexican children ; and as the horse 
stopped a woman appeared in the low doorway. 

“Buenas dias, Senorita,” she called; then, still in 
her native tongue: “Manuel, take the lady’s horse. 
You Juanita, drive that dog away. This is not the 
manner to receive a lady. Come in, come in, Senorita* 
May God bless you for a good friend to the poor 
Come in.” 

Everything about the place, although showing un 
mistakable signs of poverty, was clean and orderly, 
«rhile the manner of the woman, though quietly 
•respectful and warmly grateful, showed a dignifieo 
^elf-respect. In one corner of the room, on a rude 
oed, lay a young man. 

The girl returned the woman’s greeting kindly in 

68 


THE WIKNTNG OF BARBARA WORTH 


Spanish and, going to the bedside, spoke, still in the 
soft, musical tongue of the South, to the man. “How 
are you to-day, Pablo ? Is the leg getting better all 
right ?” 

“Si, Senorita, thank you,” he replied, his dark 
face beaming with gladness and gratitude and his 
eyes looking up at her with an expression of dumb 
devotion. “Yes, I think it gets better right along. 
But it is slow and it is hard to lie here doing nothing 
for the mother and the children. God knows what 
would become of us if it were not for your goodness. 
La Senorita is an angel of mercy. We can never 
repay.” 

The people were of the better class of industrious 
poor Mexicans. The father was dead, and Pablo, 
the eldest son, who was the little family’s sole sup- 
port, had been hurt in the mine some two weeks 
before. Barbara visited them every few days, caring 
for their wants as indeed she helped many of Rubio 
City’s worthy poor. For this work Jefferson Worth 
gave her without question all the money that she 
asked and often expressed his interest in his own 
cold way, even telling her of certain cases that came 
to his notice from time to time. So the banker’s 
daughter was hailed as an angel of mercy and greatly 
loved by the same class that feared and cursed her 
father. 

For a little while the girl talked to Pablo and his 
mother cheerfully and encouragingly, with under- 
standing asking after their needs. Then, placing a 
gold piece in the woman’s hand and promising to 
come again, she bade them — “Adios.” 


THE WIHNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


For a short distance Barbara now followed the old 
San Felipe trail along which, as a baby, she had 
been brought by her friends to Jefferson Worth’s 
home. But where the old road crosses the railroad 
tracks, and leads northwest into The King’s Basin, 
the girl turned to the right toward the end of that 
range of low hills that rims the Desert. 

As her horse traveled up the long gradual slope 
in the easy swinging lope of western saddle stock, the 
view grew wider and wider. The sun poured its 
flood of white light down upon the broad Mesa, and 
away in the distance the ever-widening King’s Basin 
lay, a magic, constantly changing ocean of soft colors. 
Hearer ahead were the hills, brown and tawny, with 
blue shadows in the canyons shading to rose and 
lilac and purple as they stretched their long lengths 
away toward the lofty, snow-capped sentinels of the 
Pass. Free from the city with its many odors, the 
dry air was invigorating like wine and came to her 
rich with the smell of the sun-burned, wind-swept 
plains. The girl breathed deeply. Her cheeks 
glowed — her eyes shone. Even her horse, seeming 
to catch her spirit, arched his neck and, in sheer joy 
of living, pretended to he frightened now and then at 
something that was really nothing at all. 

At the foot of the first low, rounded hill Barbara 
faced Pilot to the northwest and hade him stand 
still. Motionless now the girl sat in her saddle, 
looking away over La Palma de la Mano de Dios. 
It wr" to this point that Barbara so often came, and 
as she looked now over the miles and miles of that 
silent, dreadful land her face grew sad and wistful 

70 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


and in her eyes there was an expression that the 
Seer sometimes said made him think of the desert. 

Gentle Mrs. Worth had lived just long enough to 
leave an indelible impression of her simple genuine- 
ness upon the life of the child, who had come to 
take in her heart the place left vacant by the death of 
her own baby girl. Since the loss of her second 
mother the girl had lived with no woman companion 
save the Indian woman Ynez, and it was the Seer 
rather than Jefferson Worth to whom she turned in 
fullest confidence and trust. The childish instinct 
that had led the baby to the big engineer’s arms that 
night on the Desert had never vvavered through the 
years when she was growing into womanhood, and 
the Seer, whose work after the completion of the 
S. and C. called him to many parts of the West ? 
managed every few months a visit to the girl he 
loved as his own. To M r . Worth who, as far as it 
was possible for him to be, was in all things a father 
to her, Barbara gave in return a daughter’s love, but 
she had never been able to enter into the life of the 
banker as she entered into the life of the engineer 
So it was the Seer who became, after Mrs. Worthy 
the dominant influence in forming the character of 
the motherless girl. His dreams of Reclamations, 
his plans and efforts to lead the world to recognize 
the value of that great work, with his failures and 
disappointments, she shared at an early age with 
peculiar sympathy, for she had not been kept in 
ignorance of the tragic part the desert had played 
in her own life. Particularly did The King’s Basin 
Desert interest her. She felt that, in a way, it be* 

71 


THE WIHHIHG OE BARBARA WORTH 


longed to her ; that she belonged to it. It was her 
Desert. Its desolation she shared; its waiting she 
understood; something of its mystery colored her 
life; something within her answered to its call. It 
was her Desert ; she feared it ; hated it ; loved it. 

Often as Barbara sat looking over that great basin 
her heart cried out to know the secret it held. Who 
was she? Who were her people? What was the 
name to which she had been born? What was the 
life from which the desert had taken her? But no 
answer to her cry had ever come from the awful 
“Hollow of God’s Hand.” 

Before Barbara had left her home that afternoon 
a man, walking with long, easy stride, followed the 
San Felipe trail out from the city on to the Mesa. 
He was a tab man and of so angular and lean a figure 
that his body seemed made up mostly of bone some- 
what loosely fastened together with sinews almost as 
hard as the frame-work. His face, thin and rugged, 
was burned to the color of saddle leather. He was 
dressed in corduroy trousers, belted and tucked in 
high-laced boots, a soft gray shirt and slouch hat, 
and over his square shoulders was the strap of a small 
canteen. His long legs carried him over the ground 
at an astonishing rate, so that before Barbara had 
| left the Mexicans the pedestrian had gained the foot 
of the low hill at the mouth of the canyon. 

} With remarkable ease the man ascended the rough, 
steep side of the hill, where, selecting a convenient 
rock, he seated himself and gave his attention to the 
wonderful scene that, from his feet, stretched away 
miles and miles to the purple mountain wall on the 

72 


CEE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


jfe st. So still was lie and so intent in his study of 
ihe landscape, that a homed-toad, which had dodged 
under the edge of the rock at his approach, crept 
forth again, venturing quite to the edge of his hoot 
heel; and a lizard, scaling the rock at his back 5 
almost touched his shoulder. 

When Barbara had left the San Felipe trail and 
was riding toward the hills, the man’s eyes were 
attracted by the moving spot on the Mesa and he 
stirred to take from the pocket of his coat a field 
glass, while at his movement the horned-toad and 
the lizard scurried to cover. Adjusting his glass he 
easily made out the figure of the girl on horseback, 
who was coming in his direction. He turned again 
to his study of the landscape, but later, when the 
horse and rider had drawn nearer, lifted his glass 
for another look. This time he did not turn away 0 

Rapidly, as Barbara drew nearer and nearer, the 
details of her dress and equipment became more 
distinct until the man with the glass could even make 
out the fringe on her gauntlets, the contour of her 
face and the color of her hair. When she stopped 
and turned to look over the desert below he forgot 
the scene that had so interested him and continued 
to gaze at her, until, as the girl turned her face 
in his direction and apparently looked straight at 
him, he dropped the glass in embarrassed confusion, 
forgetting for the instant that at that distance, with 
his gray and yellow clothing so matching the ground 
and rock, he would not be noticed. With a low 
chuckle at his absurd situation he recovered bimself 
and again lifting the glass turned it upon B^bar^ 

73 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


who was now riding swiftly toward the mouth, of a 
little canyon that opened behind the hill where he 
sat. 

Suddenly with an exclamation the young man 
sprang to his feet. The running horse had stumbled 
and fallen. After a few struggling efforts to rise 
the animal lay still. The girl did not move. With 
long, leaping strides the man plunged down the 
rough, steep side of the hill. 

When Barbara slowly opened her eyes she was 
lying in the shadow of the canyon wall some distance 
from the spot where her horse had stumbled. Still 
dazed with the shock of her fall she looked slowly 
around, striving to collect her scattered senses. She 
knew the place but could not remember how she came 
there. And where was her horse — Pilot ? And how 
came that canteen on the ground by her side? At 
this she sat up and looked around just in time to see 
a tall, gaunt, roughly-dressed figure coming toward 
her from the direction of the canyon mouth. 

Instantly the girl reached for her gun. The 
holster was empty. 

The man, quite close now, seeing the suggestive 
gesture, halted; then, coming nearer, silently held 
out her own pearl-handled revolver. 

Still confused and acting upon the impulse of the 
moment before, Barbara caught the weapon from the 
out-stretched hand and in a flash covered the silent 
stranger. 

Very deliberately the fellow drew back a few pace& 
and stretched both hands high above his head. 

“Who are you ?” asked the girl sharply. 

74 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

"A white man/* he answered whimsically, adding 

ii it were an afterthought, “and a gentleman.” 

‘But- why What How did I get here! 

Where did you come from ?” 

“1 was up on the hill back there. I saw your 
DiOrse fall and went to you the quickest way. You 
were unconscious and I carried you here out of the 
^un.” 

“I remember now,” said Barbara. “We were 
running and Pilot fell. He must have stepped into 
a hole.” She put up her free hand to her forehead 
and found it wet. Her eyes fell on the canteen and 
the color came back into her face with a rush. “But 
you haven’t told me who you are,” she said sternly 
to the man who still stood with hands uplifted. 

“I’m a surveyor going south with a party on some 
preliminary work. We arrived in Rubio City this 
morning expecting to find the Chief, who wrote me 
from New York to meet him here with an outfit. He 
has not arrived and there was nothing to do so X 
walked out on the Mesa to have another look at this 
King’s Basin country.” 

Barbara knew that the Seer had been called to New 
York by some capitalists who had become interested 
in the financial possibilities of the reclamation work. 
At the stranger’s explanation of his presence she 
regarded him with excited interest. “Do you mean 

Is it the Seer whom you expected to meet? 

Are you — with him ?” 

The young man smiled gravely. “I was sure that 
it was you,” he answered. “You are the little girl 
whom we found in the desert.” 


75 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“And you” — burst forth Barbara, eagerly — “you 
must be Abe Lee !” 

The surveyor answered whimsically: “Don’t you 
think I might take my hands down now? I’m 
unarmed you know and you could still shoot me if 
you thought I needed it.” 

In her excitement Barbara had forgotten that she 
still held her weapon pointed straight at him. She 
dropped the gun with a confused laugh. “I beg your 
pardon, A — Mr. Lee. I did not realize that I was 
holding up my” — she hesitated, then finished gravely 
■ — “my only brother.” 

A quick glad light flashed into the sharp blue eyes 
of the surveyor. “You have not forgotten me then ?” 

“Forgotten! When father and the Seer and Texas 
and Pat and you are all the — the family I have in 
the world.” Her lips quivered, but she went on 
bravely: “The Seer has told me so many things 
about you and I have thought about you so muck 
But I did not realize, though, that you were a big, 
grown-up man. The Seer always speaks of you as 
a boy and so I have always called you my brother 
Abe as I call Texas and Pat my uncles. But I 
think you might have come to see me sometimeso 
Why didn’t you come straight to me this morning 
instead of tramping ’way out here alone ?” 

Abe Lee was silent. How could he explain the 
place in his life that was filled by the little girl whom 
he had known for the two years that the building of 
the railroad had kept him with the Seer in Rubio 
City? How could she understand the poverty and 
grinding hardship of his boyhood struggle when the 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


snly time he could snatch from his work he must 
spend on his books, while she was growing up in the 
banker’s home ? He was more alone in the world 
than Barbara. Save for the Seer he had no one. 
Texas and Pat he had met at intervals when they 
same together on some construction work, and always 
they had talked about her; while the engineer had 
often told him of Barbara’s interest in her “brother” ; 
and sometimes the Seer even shared with him her 
letters. But all this had only served to emphasize the 
distance that lay between them. It was not a distance 
of miles but of position — of circumstances. The 
nameless little waif of the desert had become the 
daughter of Jefferson Worth. The child of the 
mining camp was — Abe Lee. So when, at last, his 
work had brought him to Rubio City again he shrank 
from meeting her and had gone out on to the Mesa 
to look away over La Palma de la Mano de Dios — - 
to be alone. 

Barbara, seeing his embarrassment at her question^ 
guessed a part of the reason and gently sought to 
relieve the situation. “I think we had better find 
my horse and start for home now,” she said. 

The thin, sun-tanned face of the surveyor was 
filled with sympathy as he replied : “I’m sorry, but 
* your pony is down and out.” 

“Down and out ! Pilot ? Oh ! you don’t mean — 
You don’t ” 

Abe explained simply. “His leg was broken and 
be couldn’t get up. There was nothing that could 
visibly be done for him. He was suffering so that 
I It was for that I borrowed your gun.” 

77 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


For a long time she sat very still, and the man 
understanding that she wished to be alone, quietly 
went a little way up the canyon around the jutting 
edge of the rocky wall. Deliberately he seated him 
self on a boulder and taking from the pocket of his 
flannel shirt tobacco and papers, rolled a cigarette 
A deep inhalation and the gray cloud rose slowly 
from his lips and nostrils. Stooping he carefully 
gathered a handful of sharp pebbles and — one by one 
—flipped them idly toward the opposite side of the 
canyon. Another generous puff of smoke and a 
second handful of pebbles followed the first. Then 
rising he dropped the cigarette and went back to her 0 

“I think we should be going now” — he hesitated— 
“sister.” 

She looked up with a smile of understanding. 
“Thank you — Abe. Can we go baclf over the hill 
there, do you think? I — I don’t want to see him 
again.” 

Together they climbed the low hill at the mouth 
of the canyon from which he had seen the accident, 
the girl resolutely keeping her eyes fixed ahead so as 
not to see the dead horse on the plain below. When 
the top of the hill was between them and the canyon 
she made him stop and together they stood looking 
down and far away over the wide reaches of The 
King’s Basin. 

“Isn’t it grand? Isn’t it awful?” she said in a 
low, reverent tone. “It fairly hurts. It seems to be 
calling — calling ; waiting — waiting for some one. 
Sometimes I think it must be for me. I fear it— 
hate it — love it so.” Her voice vibrated with strong 

78 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


passion and the surveyor, looking up, saw her wide- 
eyed, intense expression and felt as did the Seer that 
somehow she was like the desert. 

“Do you come out here often ?” he asked curiously. 

“Yes, often,” she answered. “I could not get 
along without my Desert and this is the finest place 
to see it. The Seer always comes out here with me 
when he can. Do you think that land will ever be 
reclaimed?” She faced him with the question. 

“Why, no one can say about that, you know,” he 
answered slowly. “There has never been a survey.” 

“Well,” she declared emphatically, “I know. It 
will be. Listen! Don’t you hear it calling? I 
think it’s for that it has been waiting all these ages.” 

The surveyor smiled as one would humor a child. 
“Perhaps you are right,” he said. 

“How you are laughing at me,” she returned 
quickly. “They all do; father and the Seer and 
Texas and Pat. But you shall see! I believe, 
though, that the Seer thinks that I am right, only he 
always says as you do that there has never been a 
survey; and sometimes I think that even father— 
away down in his heart — believes it too.” 

All the long walk to Barbara’s home they talked 
of the Desert and the Seer’s dreams of Reclamation ; 
and Abe told her how at last those “stupid capital- 
ists,” as Barbara called them, had opened their eyes. 
The great James Greenfield himself had read an 
article of the Seer’s on “Reclamation from the In- 
vestor’s Point of View” and had written him. As a 
result of their correspondence the engineer had gone 
to Hew York; and now a company organized by 
(Greenfield was sending him south to look over a bi$ 

79 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


territory and to report on the possibilities of its 
development. 

When they arrived at Barbara’s home they found 
the Seer himself. The fifteen years had made no 
perceptible change in the general appearance of the 
engineer. His form was still strongly erect and vigor- 
ous, but his hair was a little gray, and to a close 
observer, his face in repose revealed a touch of sad 
ness — that indescribable look of one who is beginning 
to feel less sure of himself, or rather who, from many 
disappointments, is beginning to question whether he 
will live to see his most cherished plans carried U 
completion — not because he has less faith in hig 
visions, but because he has less hope that he wib 
be able to make them clear to others. 

When the evening meal was over the surveyor 
Bald good-by, for the expedition was to start in the 
morning and he had some work to do. When he 
was gone Barbara joined her father and the engineer 
on the porch. “Here they are,” she said. “Haven’t 
I kept them nicely for you?” She was holding 
toward the Seer a box of cigars. 

“Indeed you have,” returned the engineer in $ 
pleased tone, helping himself to a cool, moist Havana 
“You are a dear, good girl.” 

Jefferson Worth did not use tobacco, but it was at 
unwritten law of the household that the Seer, when 
he came, should always have his evening smoke on 
the porch and that Barbara should be the keeper of 
supplies. She liked to see her friend’s strong face 
brought suddenly out of the dusk by the flare of the 
match and towvatch the glow of the cigar end in the 
dark while they talked. 


80 


THE WiraiHG OF BARBAE A WORTH 


^And what do you think of your brother Abe* 
Barbara ?” the big engineer asked when his cigar 
was going nicely. “Didn’t he talk you nearly to 
death ?” 

The girl laughed. “I guess he didn’t have a 
diance. I always do most of the talking, you know.” 

The Seer chuckled. “Abe told me once that most 
of the time he felt like an oyster and the rest of the 
time he was so mad at himself for being an oyster 
that he couldn’t find words to do the subject justice.” 

“I think he is splendid!” retorted Barbara, en- 
thusiastically. 

“He is,” returned the engineer earnestly. “I 
don’t know of a man in the profession whom I would 
rely upon so wholly in work of a certain kind. You 
see Abe was bom and raised in the wild, uncivilized 
parts of the country and he has a natural ability for 
his work that amour ts almost to genius. With a 
knowledge of nature gained through his remarkable 
powers of observation and deduction, I doubt if Abe 
Lee to-day has an equal as what might be called a 
^surveyor scout.’ I believe he is made of iron 0 
Hunger, cold, thirst, heat, wet, seem to make no 
impression on him. He can out-walk, out-work, out- 
last and out-guess any man I ever met. He has the 
instinct of a wild animal for finding his way and 
the coldest nerve I ever saw. His honesty and loy- 
alty amount almost to fanaticism. But he is diffi- 
dent and shy as a school girl and as sensitive as at 
bashful boy. I verily believe he knows more to-day 
about the great engineering projects in the West than 
nine-tenths of the school men but I’ve seen him sit 
for an hour absolutely dumb, half scared to deaths 

81 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


listening to the cheap twaddle of some smart ‘yellow’ 
legs’ with the ink not dry yet on their diplomas. Put 
him in the field in charge of a party of that same 
bunch, though, and he would be boss to the last stake 
on the line or the last bite of grub in the outfit if he 
had to kill half of them to do it. I guess you’ll 
think I’m a bit enthusiastic about my right hand 
man,” he finished, with a short, apologetic laugh 
“and I am. It’s because I know him.” 

He struck another match and Barbara saw his 
face for an instant. As the match went out she 
drew a long breath. “I’m glad you said that,” she 
said softly. “I wanted you to. I’m sure he hag 
earned it.” 

Then they talked of the Seer’s new expedition thax 
would start south at daybreak, and it seemed to Bar 
bara that the very air was electric with the coming 
of a mighty age when the ^ace would direct its 
strength to the turning of millions of acres of deso- 
late, barren waste into productive farms and beauti- 
ful homes for the people. 

At daybreak the girl was up to tell the See*- 
good-by. “I wish,” she said wistfully, as she stood 
with him a moment at the gate, “I wish it was my 
Desert that you and Abe were going to survey.” 

The engineer smilingly answered i “Some day, 
perhaps, that, too, will come.” 

“I know it will,” she said simply. 

And as she stood before him in all the beautiful 
strength of her young womanhood, the Seer felt that 
sweet, mysterious power of her personality — felt it 
with a father’s loving pride. “I believe you do know 5 
Barbara,” he said ; “I believe you do.” 

82 


CHAPTER Vo 

WHAT THE INDIAN TOLD THE SEER, 

N the making of Barbara’s Desert the canyon 
carving, delta-building river did not count 
the centuries of its labor; the rock-hewing, 
beach-forming waves did not number the ages of their 
toil ; the burning, constant sun and the drying, drift- 
ing winds were not careful for the years. Therefore 
is the time of the real beginning of what happened 
in this, the land of my story, unknown. 

Somewhere in the eternity that lies back of all the 
yesterdays, the great river found the salt waves of 
the ocean fathoms deep in what is now The King’s 
Basin and extending a hundred and seventy miles 
north of the shore that takes their wash to-dayc 
Slowly, through the centuries of that age of all 
beginnings, the river, cutting canyons and valleys in 
the north and carrying southward its load of silt, 
built from the east across the gulf to Lone Mountain 
a mighty delta dam. 

South of this new land the ocean still received the 
river ; to the' north the gulf became an inland seac 
The upper edge of this new-born sea beat helpless 
against a line of low, barren hills beyond which lay 
many miles of a rainless land. Eastward lay yet 
more miles of desolate waste. And between this sea 
and the parent ocean on the west, extending south- 



83 



THE WIJOTUG OF BARBARA WORTH 


ward past the delta dam, the mountains of the Coast 
Range shut out every moisture-laden cloud and turned 
back every life-bearing stream. Thus trapped and 
helpless, the bright waters, with all their life, fell 
ander the constant, fierce, beating rays of the semi- 
tropical sun and shrank from the wearing sweep of 
the dry, tireless winds. Uncounted still, the cen- 
turies of that age also passed and the bottom of that 
sea lay bare, dry and lifeless under the burning 
sky, still beaten by the pitiless sun, still swept by the 
scorching winds. The place that had held the glad 
waters with their teeming life came to be an empty 
basin of blinding sand, of quivering heat, of dreadful 
death. Unheeding the ruin it had wrought, the river 
swept on its way. 

And so — hemmed in by mountain wall, barren 
hills and rainless plains; forgotten by the ocean; 
deserted by the river, that thirsty land lay, the lone- 
liest, most desolate bit of this great Western Con- 
tinent. 

But the river could not work this ruin without 
contributing to the desert the rich strength it had 
gathered from its tributary lands. Mingled with the 
sand of the ancient sea-bed was the silt from far- 
away mountain and hill and plain. That basin of 
Death was more than a dusty tomb of a life that had 
been; it was a sepulchre that held the vast treasure 
of a life that would be — would be when the ages 
should have made also the master men, who would 
dare say to the river: “Make restitution!” — men 
who could, with power, command the rich life within 
the tomb to come forth. 


84 


THE WINNING OF BAEBAEA WOETH 


But master men are not the product of years — 
scarcely, indeed, of centuries. The people of my 
story have also their true beginnings in ages too 
remote to he reckoned. The master passions, the 
governing instincts, the leading desires and the driv- 
ing fears that hew and carve and form and fashion 
the race are as reckless of the years as are wave and 
river and sun and wind. Therefore the forgotten 
land held its wealth until Time should make the 
giants that could take it. 

In the centuries of those forgotten ages that went 
into the making of The King’s Basin Desert, the 
families of men grew slowly into tribes, the tribes 
grew slowly into nations arid the nations grew slowly 
into worlds. New worlds became old ; and other new 
worlds were discovered, explored, developed and 
made old; war and famine and pestilence and pros- 
perity hewed and formed, carved and built and fash- 
ioned, even as wave and river and sun and wind. 
The kingdoms of earth, air and water yielded up 
their wealth as men grew strong to take it; the 
elements bowed their necks to his yoke, to fetch and 
carry for him as he grew wise to order; the wilder- 
ness fled, the mountains lay bare their hearts, the 
waste places paid tribute as he grew brave to 
command. 

Across the wide continent the tracks of its wild 
life were trodden out by the broad cattle trails, the 
paths of the herds were marked by the wheels of 
immigrant wagons and the roads of the slow-moving 
teams became swift highways of steel. In the East 
the great cities that received the hordes from every 

85 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

land were growing ever greater. On the far west 
coast the crowded multitude was building even as it 
was building in the East. In the Southwest savage 
race succeeded savage race, until at last the slow- 
footed padres overtook the swift-footed Indian and 
the rude civilization made possible by the priests in 
turn ran down the priest. 

About the land of my story, forgotten under th6 
dry sky, this ever-restless, ever-swelling tide of life 
swirled and eddied — swirled and eddied, but touched 
it not. On the west it swept even to the foot of the 
grim mountain wall. On the east one far-flung rip- 
pie reached even to the river — when Rubio City was 
born. But the Desert waited, silent and hot and 
fierce in its desolation, holding its treasures under 
the seal of death against the coming of the strong 
ones ; waited until the man-making forces that 
wrought through those long ages should have done 
also their work; waited for this age — for your age 
and mine — for the age of the Seer and his com- 
panions — for the days of my story, the days of Bar- 
bara and her friends. 

The Seer’s expedition, returning from the south, 
made camp on the bank of the Rio Colorado twenty 
miles below Rubio City. It was the last night out. 
Supper was over and the men, with their pipes and 
cigarettes, settled themselves in various careless atti- 
tudes of repose after the long day. Their sun-burned 
faces, toughened figures and worn, desert-stained 
clothing testified to their weeks of toil in the open 
air under the dry sky of an almost rainless land* 
Borne were old-timers — veterans of many a similar 

86 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


campaign. Two were new recruits on their first trip 
All were strong, clean-cut, vigorous specimens of 
Intelligent, healthy manhood, for in all the profes 
sions, not excepting the army and navy, there can 
be found no finer body of men than our civil engi 
neers. 

Easily they fell to talking of to-morrow night in 
Rubio City, of baths and barbers and good beds and 
clean clothes and dinners and the pleasures of civil 
ization and prospective future jobs. Much good- 
natured chaff was passed with hearty give and take. 
Jokes that had become time-worn in the piany days 
and nights that the party had been cut off from all 
other society were revived with fresh interest. In 
cidents and accidents of the trip were related and 
reviewed with zest, with here and there a comment 
on the work itself that was still fresh in their minds, 

Abe Lee, sitting with his back against a wagon 
wheel and his long legs stretched straight out in 
front, listened, enjoying it all in his own way, taking 
his share of the chaff with a slow smile, exhaling 
great clouds of cigarette smoke and only at rare 
intervals contributing a word or a short sentence to 
the talk. Abe was at home with these men out there 
in the desert night. Under the Chief he was their 
master — respected, admired and loved. But the old= 
timers knew that to-morrow, in town with these same 
men, dressed in conventional garb, on the street oi 
in the hotel, the surveyor would be as bashful and 
awkward as a country boy. So they joked him 
about his numerous sweethearts in Rubio City and 
related many entirely fictitious love adventures and 

87 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


sromantic experiences that he was said to have passed 
through in different parts of the country during the 
years they had known him. Hot one of them but 
would have been astonished beyond words had he 
known of Abe’s adventure the afternoon before they 
left Rubio City, and how, through every day of the 
hard, grilling labor with the expedition, the image 
of the girl he had watched through his field glass 
was before him. 

When the fire of the wits was turned on anothei 
mark Abe slowly arose to his feet and slipped out of 
the circle. Going quietly to the cook-wagon where 
the Chinaman sat smoking in solitary grandeur, he 
asked: “Wing, where is the Chief ? I saw him talk 
mg to you a little while ago.” 

“Me no sabe, Boss Abe. Chief, him go off that 
way.” He pointed toward the river with his long 
bamboo pipe. “Wing sabe Chief feel velly bad, Boss 
Abe; damn.” 

The white man regarded the Chinaman silently 
for a moment, then: “You’re a good boy, Wing, 
Good night.” 

“Hight, Boss Abe,” came the plaintive answer, 
and the surveyor went on to where a group of Coco 
pah Indian laborers made their rude camp. These 
he greeted in Spanish and asked: “Has the Chief 
been with you since supper ?” 

“Ho, Senor* He by river there little time past,* 
said one, pointing to a clump of cottonwood teees 
fthat rose above a fringe of willows. 

“Buenos noches, hombres,” said Aba 


88 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

([ ‘Buenos noches, Senor,” came the chorus of soft 
voices in the dusk. 

On the high bank under the cottonwoods the Seer 
gat with bowed head. He did not heed the broad 
yellow tide of silt-laden water that swept by him so 
silently ; he did not see the myriad stars in the velvet 
sky, nor notice the golden moon climbing slowly up 
from the dark level of the land. The jovial voices 
and merry laughter of his men came to him from the 
camp, but he did not hear. To-morrow the expedi 
tion would be over, the party disbanded. He would 
make his report to the capitalists who had sent him 
forth. His report! — the Seer groaned. Few words 
would be needed to sum up the work of the last two 
months but it would not be easy to frame them. 

His ear caught the snap of a twig and a whiff of 
cigarette smoke floated to him. He turned his head 
quickly. “That you, Abe ?” 

The long figure of the surveyor settled on the bank 
by his side. For a little neither spoke, while the 
Seer, with slow care, filled and lighted his pipe. 

“Well, lad,” he said at last, “we have about 
reached the end of another failure.” 

“Will you go to New York, sir ?” 

“No, it will not be necessary. I can write in fifty 
words all there is to say.” 

“Perhaps they will send you out again,” offered 
the surveyor. 

“Their interest is not strong enough. They only 
tackled this because some other fellows were consid- 
ering the proposition. That made them think there 
might be something in it. If I had the capital tc 

89 


THE WIKNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


make surveys and could go to them with data fei 
some other project they might consider it, but — ” 

Abe rolled another cigarette and with the first 
cloud of smoke came the slow words: “Well, the%. 
let’s get the data.” 

Even at what seemed a hopeless suggestion the dis- 
couraged heart of the old engineer beat more quickly,. 
He turned his face toward the younger man, 
“Where?” 

Abe stretched forth a long arm toward the broad 
Colorado at their feet and toward the desert beyond 
“The King’s Basin. You’ve often told me about that 
country. If I sabe the lay of the land we’re some- 
where at the southern end of it, at the beginning of 
the high ground of the delta that shuts out the oeeam 
There’s water enough here for five times that terri- 
tory.” 

“Do you mean — ” the Seer began quickly and 
stopped. 

“I mean this: you already know the north and 
northeastern part of the Basin from the railroadc 
You have been through it from the west on the San 
Felipe trail. Send the outfit in to-morrow with the 
boys. Give them orders on the bank for their pay 
and let them go. You and I can scout around the 
delta end of that country over there for a week or 
two and if it looks good, with what you have already 
seen, you have enough to talk on. Then go on to Hew 
York and when you report on the southern project 
turn loose on ’em with this.” 

“Abe,” said the engineer thoughtfully, “if anyone 
but you were to propose that I go before these cap! 


90 


THE WLOJTHG OE BARBARA WORTH 


talists to interest them in a project without ever haw 
ing put an instrument on it I would knock him 
down. Such recklessness would ruin any civil engi- 
neer in the world, if — ” 

“If he guessed wrong,” finished Abe dryly. 

“If he guessed wrong/' admitted the Seer reluc- 
fcantly. 

“If it looked good enough for you to risk an opin- 
ion you would have some strong talking points,” ven- 
tured Abe. “There must be five hundred thousand 
acres in that old sea-bed. The Colorado carries 
water enough for five times that area. There’s the 
railroad already built along one side; there’s San 
Felipe and the whole Coast country within easy 
reach. It beats the other proposition a hundred to 
one, if it can be done at all.” 

The Seer rose and paced up and down in the 
bright moonlight. Presently he said : “If yon 
accept the position with Hunt up north you 
should go on at once. That job would be the best 
thing you ever had. Don’t you want to take it ?” 

“You know what I want, if you can use me.” 

“I could manage your present salary for this trip 
but beyond that you know how uncertain it all is 0 
Hunt can’t wait any longer.” 

“Look here,” said Abe, angrily, “I understood 
when I made my proposition that our salaries would 
stop when we cut the outfit. Do you think I meant 
for you to take all the risk? I’m only a surveyor 
and you an educated engineer but this thing means 
as much to me as it does to you. Let me share the 
expense and I’m with you but not on any other terms 


91 


THE WrOTNTG OE BARBARA WORTH 

Hunt and his job can go hang. I don’t see why you 
should assume that it’s only my pay that I work for.’* 
It was a long speech for Abe. 

The engineer put his big hand on the young man’s 
shoulder. “Thank you, Abe,” he said. “That does 
me good. I’ve always knowm that it was there. But 
it’s a hard road, lad, a mighty hard road!” Then? 
“I wonder if we have an Indian in the outfit who 
knows this country.” 

“Yes, sir,” Abe answered promptly. “Jose knows 
it well. I’ve been pumping him for a month. I’ll 
get him.” 

As the tall figure of the surveyor disappeared in 
the direction of the Cocop ah camp the Seer smiled to 
himself. “Been pumping him for a month,” he 
repeated. “That means that he saw almost before I 
did that the other proposition was no good. Humph P 

He faced toward the river and looked away into 
the night where The Ring’s Basin lay — a weird 
dream-country under the light of the moon. And' 
because it was impossible to think of Barbara’s 
Desert without thinking of Barbara he smiled again, 
musing that there would be little sleep that night foi 
the girl in Rubio City if she knew what he and Abe 
were considering. From across the river came the 
shrill, snarling, yelping coyote chorus and the engi 
aeer saw again the body of a dead woman at the drv 
water hole, an empty canteen, and a big-eyed, brown 
haired baby stretching out her arms to him. 

While the Seer was too careful an engineer to take 
juickly the suggestion of Abe, he had seen too man) 
tests of the desert-bred surveyor’s genius not to coi 1 - 


92 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


aider his proposition seriously. He was also too 
much of a dreamer not to be influenced by thoughts 
of Barbara and her association in his mind with this 
particular project. Could it be that the land which 
had so tragically given the child into his life was now 
to realize his dreams of Reclamation. 

He was interrupted by the return of Abe, who was 
followed by an old, grizzly-haired Cocopah. 

“Tell the Chief what you have told me, Jose,” said 
the surveyor and, stepping aside, he rolled the inev- 
itable cigarette with an air of taking himself wholly 
out of the matter under consideration. 

“You sabe that country over there, Jose?” asked 
the Chief. 

“Si, Senor,” came the soft answer, and reaching 
out, the Indian gently turned the engineer so that 
the latter stood with his back squarely to the river. 
Taking the Seer’s right hand and holding it out- 
stretched with open palm upward in one of his own 
and tracing with the other dark-skinned finger, as 
one might trace on a relief map, he continued in 
Spanish, as he drew his finger carefully along the 
white man’s thumb from the wrist: “Here are the 
mountains that shut out the country by the Big Sea 
where is San Felipe. I go there once, long time ago. 
My people live there.” He indicated the space 
between the first and second joints of the thumb 
Next he touched the base of the Seer’s little finger c 
“Here is Rubio City.” Then tracing the outer rim 
of the palm toward the wrist: “Here are the hills, 
and the railroad that the Senor made.” His finger 
paused in the depression between the base of the 

93 


THE WIKNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


(thumb and the outer edge of the palm at the wrist, 
“The Senor’s railroad goes through the Pass in the 
high mountains here.” Next, from the outer edge of 
the hand he traced across the palm at the base of the 
fingers. “The river goes this way to the big water 
that comes in from the sea here.” He indicated the 
open space between the extended thumb and the inner 
edge of the palm. 

“We stand now here.” He touched the base of the 
Seer’s index finger. “It is The Hollow of God’s 
Hand, Senor — La Palma de la Mano de Dios,” he 
repeated reverently. He dropped the engineer’s hand 
and stood quietly waiting to be questioned. 

Again the Seer put forth his hand and pointing 
with his own finger to the inner edge of the palm 
between the base of the index finger and the thumb, 
he asked : “The land is high here ?” 

“Si, Senor, a little. Just like the hand. It is 
much low here.” He touched the deepest part of the 
palm. “And a little high here where we stand. 
Sometimes when much water comes the river goes 
all over here.” He indicated the extreme inner edge 
of the palm. “Most always this water go all this 
way” — toward the open space between the thumb and 
palm. “Sometimes a little goes here.” He traced 
the lines that cross the palm towards the wrist. 

“You can show us this country?” 

“Si, Senor.” 

“How long will it take ?” 

“What you like. From here to Lone Mountain 
straight — maybe one day go, maybe two day go.” 

“There is water ?” 


94 



MAP 

OF 


LA PALMA DE LA MANO DE DIOS 
fTHEmum or goo's om J 


OFOK'.V FV 

r9lL£N XFLLY 


TECOLOTE ft/WCHQ 
A9// 


J 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“Si. Much water left from the river last time big 
water come.” 

The Chief looked at the silent Abe, then back to 
the old Indian. “All right, Jose; we go in the morn- 
ing — you, Senor Lee and I. Be ready.” 

“Si, Senor. Buenos noches, Senores.” 

“Good night! Good night!” returned the two 
white men. 

There was much conjecturing among the surprised 
surveyors next morning, when the Chief gave to each 
man his pay check and placed an old-timer in charge 
with instructions as to the disposition of the outfit 
when they should arrive in Rubio City. 

Two loaded pack-mules and three saddle ponies 
were ready when the Seer had finished his business 
with the men* Good-bys were spoken all around and 
the Seer and Abe, with Jose in the lead, turned back 
toward the south. 

“Looks like they had forgotten something,” said 
one of the recruits as the group stood watching the 
little party jog steadily into the distance, apparently 
retracing the tracks the expedition had made the day 
before, 

“Sonny,” remarked the veteran left in charge, 
- Vhat one of that pair forgets the other is dead sure 
to remember* All the signs say that they're makin ? 
Mg medicine. All we have to do with it is to push 
for Rubio City pronto and cash our pay checks. 
Lord! but wouldn’t I like to be in it,” he added 
regretfully as he turned away. 

With provisions for three weeks on the pack- 
mimalB and the assurance of Jose that there wai 


96 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


feed and water in the overflow lands for the horses, 
the Seer and Abe proposed to cover most of the terrb 
tory lying between the Rio Colorado and Lone Moun- 
tain. It was here that the great river, in the ages 
long past, had built the delta dam, thus cutting off 
the northern end of the gulf that was now The King’s 
Basin Desert. It was their plan to follow this high 
land that separated the ocean from the Basin to the 
mountains, then to work back as far out in the Basin 
from water and feed as they could. They would then 
follow the river on the Basin side to Rubio City. 

They had barely passed beyond sight of the main 
party when Jose turned directly toward the river. 
At that stage of water a long bar put out into the 
stream and from its point the current set strongly 
toward the opposite bank. 

“Here we cross,” said the Indian briefly. 

Constructing a rude raft for their supplies and 
swimming the animals, they reached the other shore 
some distance below the point of launching with no 
accident, and that night camped well back from the 
river on the delta land. 

Day after day they rode from sunrise until dark ; 
studying the land, estimating distances and grades, 
observing the courses of the channels cut by the 
overflow and the marks of high water, noting the 
character of the soil and the vegetation; sometimes 
together, sometimes separated; with Jose to select 
their camping places and to help them with his 
Indian knowledge of the country. 

And always at night, after the long hard day, when 
supper — cooked by their own hands — was over, with 

97 ! 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


pipe and cigarettes they reviewed their observations 
and compared notes, summing up the results before 
rolling in their blankets to sleep under the stars. 

Some day, perhaps, when the world is much older 
and very much wiser, Civilization will erect a proper 
monument to the memory of such men as these. But 
just now Civilization is too greedily quarreling over 
its newly acquired wealth to acknowledge its debt of 
honor to those who made this wealth possible. 

But the Seer and his companion concerned them- 
selves with no such thoughts as these. They thought 
only of the possibility of converting the thousands of 
acres of The King’s Basin Desert into productive 
farms. For this they conceived to be their work. 

They had worked across the Basin to Lone Moun- 
tain and back to the river to a point nearly opposite 
the clump of cottonwoods where they had left the expe- 
dition, To-morrow night they would be in Rubio City. 

“Abe/* said the Seer, “our intake would go in 
right here. We could follow the old channel of Dry 
River with our canal about twenty miles out, put in 
& heading and lead off our mains and laterals.” 

For two or three hours they discussed plans and 
estimates, then the engineer shut his note-book with 
& snap c “If those New Yorkers don’t listen to what 
I can tell them of this country now they’re a whole 
Hot slower than I take them to be.” 

“Then yon think you will make a guess on the 
proposition,” asked Abe slyly. 

The Seer laughed like a boy. “I start for New 
York to-morrow night,” he answered. 

In the afternoon of the next day they struck the 

98 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Ban Felipe trail a few miles from Rubio City, 
Perhaps it was the sight of that old road, with its 
memories for the Seer and his companion, that led 
the engineer to say: “It’s curious, Abe, but I can’t 
shake off the odd feeling that Barbara’s life is some- 
how wrapped up in that country out there.” As he 
spoke he turned in his saddle to look back toward the 
Basin. “She seems to belong to it somehow as, in a 
way, it belongs to her. There is a look in her eyes 
sometimes that makes me think of the desert and the 
desert always reminds me of her. I know one thing,” 
he finished with a short laugh, “if I was to let out 
3ome of the fancies that have come to me in this 
connection it would ruin me forever so far as my 
profession goes.” 

Abe made no reply, possibly because he also had fan- 
cies — fancies that he could not tell even to the Seer. 

It is astonishing what a great cloud of dust five 
animals can stir up on a desert trail. As the little 
outfit jogged slowly along, the great yellow mass 
rolled up into the air high above their heads and 
hung — a long, slow-drifting streamer — above the trail 
until it vanished in the distance. 

Barbara, who was riding out from town on the 
Mesa, saw that cloud and stopped to study it intently 
for a few moments as if debating some question. 
Then touching her animal with the spur, she set off 
rapidly in the direction of the approaching horse- 
men ; while the two men watched the dust that arose 
from the single horse’s feet with the interest that 
travelers in lonely lands always feel in any life that 
chances to come their way. 


99 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

“Abe, that's a woman," exclaimed the Seer after a 
time. 

Abe said nothing. He had discovered that interest- 
ing fact some moments before. 

The engineer rose in his stirrups. “Abe, I’ll bet 
a month’s salary it’s Barbara.’’ 

“I’m not gambling,’’ returned the other, smiling at 
f s companion’s excitement. “I know it is." 

The big engineer dropped into his saddle with a 
grunt of disgust. “Young man, you’ve got eyes like 
a buzzard," he said, twisting about to face his com- 
panion. “By all traditions I suppose I should say 
‘eagle,’ but you certainly don’t look much like that 
noble king of birds. You’re carrying dirt enough to 
bury a horse." 

The Seer took off his sombrero and began beating 
the dust from his shoulders, while the surveyor 
looked on in silent amusement. 

“She’ll think by the dust you’re a-raisin’ that 
there’s some kind of a scrap goin’ on and that she’d 
better head the other way." 

“Not much she wouldn’t head the other way from 
a scrap. She would come on all the faster. I thought 
you knew Barbara better than that." He replaced 
his hat. “Why Abe, one time when she was — ’’ 

The surveyor interrupted his Chief by standing up 
in his stirrups in turn and swinging his hat in 
greeting, while the Seer, in waving his own sombrero 
and whooping like a wild man, forgot what he was 
about to relate. 

The girl came on at a run and — guiding her horse 
between the two dust-covered men — held out a hand 
to each. 


100 


CHAPTER VL 
THE STANDARD OF THE WEST, 


HREE days after the Seer’s letters to Abe 
and Barbara telling them that James Grec • 
field and his associates would finance an 
expedition to make the preliminary surveys in The 
King’s Basin Desert, the west-bound overland 
dropped a passenger in Rubio City from Kew York, 

The stranger was really a fine looking young man 
with the appearance of being exceptionally well-bred 
and well-kept. Indeed the most casual of observers 
would not have hesitated to pronounce him a thor- 
oughbred and a good individual of the best type that 
the race has produced. 

A company of men and women — traveling ac- 
quaintances evidently — followed him from the Pull- 
man to hid him good-by and to look at the Indians, 
who with their wealth of curios spread before them, 
squatted in a long row beside the track — objects of 
never failing interest to travelers from the East. 

“Ugh!” said a tall blonde, who displayed more 
bracelets, bangles, chains and charms — both natural 
and manufactured — than any blanketed squaw in the 
party of natives, “I suppose if we ever see you again 
you’ll be the color of that thing there.” She pointed 
to a smoky, copper-colored Papago in a green head- 
cloth and decorated shirt, who posed in a watchful 
attitude near his thrifty help-meet, 

101 



THE WIKNTJSfG OF BARBARA WORTH 


“How perfectly romantic !” gushed a billowy 
divorcee, clinging to the young fellow’s athletic arm 
with little shivers of delight “To think of you in 
this great, savage, wild land, among these strange 
people. Aren’t you just a little bit frightened ?” 

“By George, I half wish I was going to stop with 
you. You’ll get some great shooting, don’t you 
know!” exclaimed one of the men, while the chorus 
joined in : “You’ll die of loneliness !” “You’ll find 
nothing fit to eat !” “And do take care of yourself !” 

Then as the warning, “All aboard !” and the clang 
of the engine bell came down the platform, there were 
quick good-bys and a rush for the car. The colored 
porters tossed their steps aboard and followed. 
Smoothly the long, dust-covered coaches slid past. 
There was a waving of handkerchiefs and caps from 
the rear of the observation car, and the young man 
turned to look curiously about. 

“Hotel ?” 

The stranger glanced doubtfully at the tough- 
looking citizen who reached for his suit case, and 
without replying stepped into the questionable look- 
ing hack standing nearby. The driver threw the suit- 
case into the vehicle after his passenger and climbing 
to his seat, yelled to the team. 

There was no rush of brass-buttoned bell-boys to 
meet the guest at the door of the hotel, and the room 
was well-filled with a group strange to the eyes of 
the young man from Hew York. Bronzed-faced men 
in flannel shirts and belted trousers talked to men 
well-dressed in more conventional business clothes" 
others in their shirt sleeves sat smoking with com 

102 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


panions in bine overalls; two or three wore gnns 
loosely belted at their hips. Here and there was the 
pale-faced, white-collared, tied and tailored tourist. 
In the corner near the big window a group of women, 
some in white duck, some in khaki or corduroy, sat 
chatting and enjoying the scene. No one paid the 
least attention to the newcomer. The tough-looking 
driver of the hack dropped the suit case near the 
desk with a bang and turned to reply to a good, 
natured remark addressed to him by a jovial, well- 
dressed man standing near. Only the clerk regarded 
the stranger. 

“Have you a room with bath ?” 

The clerk smiled. “Certainly, sir.” Then to a 
young fellow talking over the cigar counter to a man 
in high-heeled boots and spurs: “Jack, show this 
gentleman to forty-five.” 

In the well-furnished room the guide threw open 
long French windows and pointed to a cot on the 
screened-porch outside. “Better sleep on the porch,” 
he volunteered. 

“Sleep on the porch ?” 

“Suit yourself,” came the answer as the inde= 
pendent one turned away. 

“Look here!” The employe of the house paused. 
“I want my trunk sent up immediately.” 

“Sure Mike! Let’s have your checks. So-long!” 

The stranger stood staring at the door, which the 
breezy yoimg man, as he disappeared with a cheery 
whistle, had shut behind him with a vigorous bang. 

In the dining room the man from Hew York found 
&he same easy freedom in the manner of dress, the 


103 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


same lack of conventionalities and the same atmos 
phere of general good-fellowship; yet he could not 
say that there was any lack of real courtesy and 
certainly there was no rude and boisterous talk. It 
was, to say the least, unsettling to the exceptionally 
well-bred and well-kept stranger, accustomed to the 
hotels and restaurants in the East frequented by his 
class. 

Early that evening the Easterner sallied forth, 
clearly bent on sight-seeing. He had dressed for the 
occasion. The gray traveling suit had been put aside 
for a tailor-made outfit of corduroy. The coat — worn 
without a vest over a fine negligee shirt of silk — 
was Norfolk; the trousers were riding trousers and 
above the tan shoes were pig-skin puttees. All this, 
with the light, soft hat, neat tie and the undeniably 
fine figure and handsome face, would have made him 
attractive on any stage. The tourists turned to look 
after him with expressions of admiring envy; the 
natives— white, red, black, yellow and brown — 
accepted him with no more than a passing glance as 
a part of the strange new life that the railroad was 
constantly bringing to Rubio City. 

Calmly conscious of himself and openly interested, 
in a mildly condescending way, the young man 
strolled down one side of the main street to the end 
of the business section, then back on the other. Twice 
he made the round, then, seeking scenes of further 
interest, pushed open the swinging doors of Rubio 
City’s most popular place of amusement — the Gold 
Bar saloon. 

At a table in one comer two men — one tall, dark 

104 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


faced, coatless, with unbuttoned vest, leather wrist- 
guards, and a heavy gun loosely buckled about his 
slim w T aist; the other thick-set, heavy, red-faced — 
were holding animated conversation over their 
glasses. That is to say : the thick, red-faced man was 
animated. Glaring at his companion he banged his 
huge, hairy fist on the table until the glasses jumped. 

“Ye’re a domned owld savage wid yer talk. Fwhat 
the hell is yer counthry good for as ut is ? A thousan’ 
square miles av ut wouldn’t feed a jack-rabbit. ’Tis 
a blistherin’, sizzlin’, roastin’, wilderness av sand an’ 
cactus, fit for nothin’ but thim side-w T inders, horn’- 
toads, heely-monstors an’ all their poisonous rela 
tions, includin’ yersilf.” 

The Hew Yorker, standing at the end of the bar 
nearest the table occupied by Barbara’s “uncles,” who 
had just arrived from the Gold Center mines, heard 
the words of Pat and turned toward the two friends 
with amused interest. 

Texas Joe silently lifted his glass and with a look 
of undisguised admiration for his belligerent part 
aer, waited for more. More came with another thump 
of the huge fist. 

“ ’Tis civilization that ye need, an’ ’tis civilization 
that we’re bringin’ to ye, an’ ’tis civilization that 
ye’ve got to take whether ye like ut or not. Look at 
the Seer, now ! Wan gintleman wid brains an’ educa- 
tion like him is wort’ more to this counthry than all 
the hell-roarin’ savages like yersilf between the Coast 
an’ Oklahoma, which is not so much better than it 
was. We’ve brung ye money; we’ve brung ye 
schools; we’ve brung ye railroads; an’ we’ll kape ob 


iG5 


THE WISHING OF BARBARA WORTH 


bringin’ ye the blissin’s an’ joys av civilization Til ye 
mend yer ways an’ live like Christians.” 

He paused. Texas was staring with child-like 
simplicity at the immaculate figure of the stranger 
in puttees. Pat turned to follow the gaze of his 
.companion just as the plainsman drawled softly, 
i^And you’ve brought us that.” 

The Irishman’s heavy jaw dropped. He gasped 
and gulped like an uncouth monster. Then — 
speechless — he drained his glass. 

The stranger’s face flushed but he did not move. 

“Pardner,” drawled Texas, “your remarks is 
sure edifyin’ a heap an’ some convincin’. But I’m 
still constrained to testify that the real cause an 9 
reason for the declinin’ glory of this yere great 
western country is poor shoot in’. That same, in 
turn, bein’ caused by the incomin’ herds from the 
effete East bein’ so numerous as to hinder gun 
practice.” 

“Guns is ut?” interrupted the other with a roar, 
**A man — mind ye" a man — should be ashamed to 
go about all the time wid a cannon tied to his middle, 
*Tis the mark av a child. Look at ye, now, wid all 
yer artillery an’ me wid fingers that niver pushed a 
thrigger.” He held out his great paws and studied 
them admiringly, “Why, ye herrin’, wid thim two 
hands I could break ye, gun an’ all, like I’ve 

He was interrupted by a wild-eyed individual who 
rashed into the room from the street and, springing 
toward them, hurst forth with : “Give me your gun. 
Texas, quick ! I ain’t got mine on and that damned 
!&ed Hoyt is a layin’ for me at the corner !” 


106 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Texas Joe dropped liis slim hand caressingly on 
:he big forty-five at his side, leaned easily back in 
his chair and eyed the excited citizen in a manner 
calmly judicial. “Bill, you’re cornin’ is some oppor- 
tune. You’re sure Johnny-on-the-spot.” 

“Le’ me have yer gun, Tex. Jes’ loan her to me! 
I’ll be hack in a minute.” 

“Oh, I ain’t doubtin’ that you’d be hack all right, 
Bill. That’s jest the p’int. When you blew in s© 
promisc’us an’ interrupted the meetin’, me an’ my 
friend here was jest resolvin’ that there’s too much 
bad shootin’ bein’ done in this here Rubio town. It’s 
a spoilin’ the fair name an’ a ruinin’ the reputation 
of this country. For which said reason us two 
undertakes to regulate an’ reform some.” He turned 
with elaborate politeness to Pat. “I voices yer senti- 
ments correct, pard ?” 

The Irishman’s fist struck the table and his eyes 
flashed. “To the thrim av a gnat’s heel,” he roared. 

Texas bowed and continued: “Therefore, Bill, 
this here’s our verdict. You camp right here peace- 
able while I go out an’ fetch this Red Hoyt person 
what’s been annoyin’ you. We’ll stand you up at 
fifteen steps, with nothing between to obstruct cere- 
monies, an’ drop the hat. Me an’ my friend referees 
the job an’ undertakes to see that the remains is duly 
and properly planted with all regular honors. Sabe ?” 

The blood-thirsty one, growling something about 
attending to his own funeral and finding a gun some' 
where else, went quietly and quickly out. 

Before the pugnacious Pat could voice his disgust 
and disappointment at the disappearance of the 

107 


THE WIYYIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


trouble-hunting citizen, a low, contemptuous laugh 
from the well-built stranger at the bar drew the atten- 
tion of the two friends. The young man was watch 
ing them with an amused smile. 

Texas Joe and the Irishman regarded each other 
thoughtfully. “Pard,” said Tex in a low, earnest 
tone, “do you reckon that there hilarity was in any 
ways directed toward this corner of the room ?” 

The stranger, receiving his change from the bar- 
tender, was moving leisurely toward the door when 
his way was barred by the heavy bulk of Pat. There 
was no misunderstanding the expression on the battle- 
scarred features of the Irish gladiator. Eyeing the 
athletic Easterner fiercely, he growled with deliber- 
ate meaning: “Ye same to be fmdin’ plenty av 
amusement in the private affairs av me friend an* 
mesilf. D’ye think that we are a coople av hoochy- 
koochy girls to be makin’ sphort for all the domned 
dudes that runs to look at us whin their mammas 
don’t know they’re out ?” 

The other regarded him with well-bred surpriseo 
“Stand aside,” he said curtly. 

“Oh, ho ! ye will lave widout properly apologizing 
for yer outrageous conduc’ will ye? ’Tis an ambu- 
lance that ye’ll nade to take ye home whin I’ve 
taught ye manners, ye danged yellow-legged cock-a- 
doodle!” 

He lifted his fists and the stranger, without giving 
back an inch or exhibiting the slightest suggestion 
of fear, but rather with the calm self-confidence of a 
trained athlete, squared himself for the encounter. 

Eagerly the patrons of the place — miners, cowboys^ 

108 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


ranchers, adventurers, Mexicans, Indians — had gath- 
ered around the two men, delighted with the prospect 
of what promised to be no tame exhibition. Already 
several bets had been placed and critical estimates 
and comments on the comparative merits of the two 
were being made freely when a hand fell on Pat’s 
uplifted arm. Turning with an oath of rage at the 
interruption, the Irishman faced Abe Lee. 

“Hello, Pat! Amusing yourself as usual?” To 
the angry protests from the crowd the tall surveyor 
gave not the slightest heed. 

For a moment the Irishman, looking up into that 
thin, sun-tanned face, was speechless as though he 
faced some apparition. Then with a yell of delight 
he caught the lank form of the Seer’s assistant in a 
bear-like hug. “For the love av Gawd is ut ye, ye 
OLwld sand-rat ? Where the hell did ye drop from, an 5 
fwhat are ye doin’ in this dishreputable company ! 
Look at Uncle Tex, there ! The sentimental owld sav- 
age is fair slobberin’ wid delight an’ eagerness to git 
at ye. Come, come ; we must have a dhrink.” 

As quickly as it had risen the storm had passed. 
The crowd, as if moved by a single impulse, sepa- 
rated and the room was filled with loud talk and 
laughter. Glancing around, Pat’s eye met the still 
defiant look of the stranger who had not moved from 
his place but stood calmly watching the Irishman 
and Abe as if waiting the pleasure of the man who 
had challenged him. 

The Irishman grinned in appreciation. “Howld 
on a minut,” he said to Abe who was moving away 
with Texas Joe toward a vacant table. Then to the 


109 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


stranger: “I axe yer pardon, Sorr, for goin’ off me 
head that way. ’Tis a habit I have, worse luck tc 
me — bein’ sensitive, do ye see, about me personal 
appearance an’ .some wishful for a bit av honest 
enjoyment. Av ye’ll have a dhrink wid me an’ my 
friends here I’ll take ut kindly until we can find 
some betther cause for grievance.” 

The young man’s tense figure relaxed. A smile 
broke over his face. “And I beg your pardon,” he 
said heartily. “The fact is I was not laughing at you 
at all but at the way you two men called the bluff of 
that fellow who wanted the gun. I should have said 
so and apologized but I, too, was a little upset and 
thrown off my guard.” 

“Faith, ut looked to me that ye were thrown on 
your guard. ’Tis the science ye have or I’m a 
Dutchman.” He eyed the athletic limbs, deep chest, 
broad shoulders and well-set head, with eyes that 
twinkled his approval. “Some day — But niver 
mind now ! Come.” He led the way to the table. 

As they seated themselves Pat regarded the sur- 
veyor with pleased interest. “Well, well! ’tis a 
most unexpected worrld. Av ’twas the owld divil him- 
silf that clapped his hand on me arm I’d be no more 
surprised than I was to see the lad here. Tell us, 
me bhoy, fwhat ’tis that’s brung ye here.” 

“Haven’t you two been to see Barbara yet?” the 
surveyor demanded as though charging them with 
some neglected duty. 

“We have not ; an’ by that ye will know that we’ve 
been in this town less than an hour by Tex’s watch 


110 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


ghat Barbara give him an’ that he lost down the shaft 
at Gold Center.” 

When the surveyor had explained his presence m 
Rubio City and Texas and Pat had agreed to join the 
King’s Basin party, the stranger said : “I think it is 
quite time now that I introduce myself. You are 
Mr. Lee, I believe.” 

Abe assented and with his two companions re- 
garded him with interest. 

Taking a letter from his pocket and handing it to 
the surveyor, the young man continued: “I am a 
eivil engineer. I have instructions from the Chief to 
report to you. My name is Willard Holmes.” 

The next morning the young engineer from the 
East presented his card at the Pioneer Bank and 
asked for Mr. Worth. The man who received the cor- 
rectly engraved bit of pasteboard merely nodded 
coward the other end of the long partition of polished 
wood, plate glass and bronze bars. “You’ll find him 
back there, Mr. Holmes.” 

The New Yorker smiled at the provincialism but 
nought the banker without further ceremony. 

Closing the door with one hand Jefferson Worth 
with the other indicated the chair at the end of his 
desk. “Sit down.” 

“You have a letter from Mr. Greenfield relative to 
my coming?” asked Willard Holmes. 

The banker lifted a typewritten sheet from his 
desk, glanced at it and turned back to his visitor* 
f Yes,” he said. 

The involuntary movement was the instinctive act 


111 


T ME WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


of one who habitually verifies every statement 
Then, as those expressionless blue eyes were fixed 
on the stranger’s face, the engineer’s sensation was 
as though from behind that gray mask something 
reached out to grasp his innermost thoughts and 
emotions. He felt strangely transparent and ex 
posed as one, alone in his lighted chamber at nighty 
might feel someone in the dark without, watching 
through the window. Presently the colorless, exact 
voice of Jefferson Worth asked: “This is your first 
visit West?” 

“Yes sir. My work has been altogether in Hev 
York and the Hew England states.” 

“Five years with the Hew York Contracting and 
Construction Company?” said Jefferson Worth 
exactly, laying his hand again on the letter on hi& 
desk. 

“Yes. For the past two years I have had charge oi 
their more important operations.” The engineer’*® 
tone was a shade impressive. 

But there was not the faintest shadow of a hint in 
the face or manner of that man in the revolving 
chair to intimate that he was impressed. The visitor 
might as well have spoken to the steel door of the big 
safe in the other room. “You are well acquainted 
wi:h Mr. Greenfield and his associates?” 

“My father and Mr. Greenfield were boyhooo 
friends and college classmates,” the engineer ex 
plained. “Since the death of my father when I was 
a little chap, I have lived with Uncle Jim. He was 
my guardian until I became of age.” 

The young man did not think it necessary to add 

112 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

dial the death of his father had left him penniless 
and that his father’s friend, who had never married, 
had reared and educated the child of his old class- 
mate as his own son. Neither did he explain that his 
zapid advancement in his profession was due largely 
to the powerful influence of the capitalist and those 
closely associated with him, together with the 
strength of the proud social position to which he was 
horn, rather than to hard work and experience* 
Probably Willard Holmes himself did not realize 
how much these things had added to his own native 
ability and technical training. He had never known 
anything else but these things and he accepted them 
as unconsciously as his voice was colored with the 
accent of the cultured East. 

“How do you size up this King’s Basin proposi- 
tion?” questioned the banker. 

Again Willard Holmes smiled at the western man’s 
words. “Sizing up” and “proposition” were pleas- 
ingly novel forms of expression to him. “Really,” 
he answered, “I haven’t gone into it very thoroughly 
as yet. Mr. Greenfield asked me to come out because 
he and his associates felt” — he paused; perhaps it 
would be just as well not to say what Mr. Greenfield 
and his associates felt — “that with my experience in 
connection with large corporations I could be of value 
to them in certain phases of the work,” he finishedo 
He wondered if the man, who listened with such an 
air of carefully considering e ery word and mentally 
reaching out for whatever lay back of the verbal 
expression, had grasped what he had been about to 
my„ 


113 


THE WHSTHHSTG OF BARBARA WORTH 


Jefferson Worth waited and Holmes continued’ 
^Mr. Greenfield and his friends are very anxious 
that you should come in with them on the organiza* 
tion of this company, Mr. Worth; that is, of course, 
providing the scheme proves to he practicable. They 
instructed me to urge you personally to consider their 
proposal favorably and to ask you, by all means, to 
represent them on this expedition if possible. They 
realize that a man of your recognized ability and 
standing in the financial world, particularly in the 
West, in close touch as you are with Capital and 
conditions in this part of the country and no doubt 
familiar with the Reclamation work, would be a 
valuable addition to their strength. In fact I may 
say they would depend largely upon your judgment 
as to whether the scheme was practicable from a 
business standpoint. On your side I am sure you 
recognize the advantage of allying yourself with such 
a group of capitalists, who are strong enough to 
finance any undertaking, no matter how great. Their 
interests are already enormous. As you know, they 
operate only on the largest scale and, if this survey 
justifies the report already made, they will make a 
big thing out of this for everyone interested.” 

The cold, exact voice of Jefferson Worth came as 
if from a machine incapable of inflection. “I have 
written Mr. Greenfield that I would look into the 
proposition for him. I will go out with the outfit. 
Have you seen Abe Lee?” 

“I met him last night and we had a little tall 
Dver things. I confess I was a little surprised.” 
“Why?” 


114 


THE WIKNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


“Well — that he is in charge. I was instructed tc 
report to him. I find that he has had no schooling 
whatever ; that, in fact, he is nothing but a kind of a 
self-educated surveyor. I have no doubt that he is a 
good, practical fellow, but it seems to me somewhat 
reckless to put him in such a responsible position.” 

Jefferson Worth did not say that he himself had 
had no more schooling than the Seer’s lieutenant 
Perhaps that, also, was not necessary to explain. H© 
did say: “We have only one standard in the West, 
Mr. Holmes.” 

“And that ?” 

“What can you do ?” came the words as if spoken 
hj cold iron. 


m 


CHAPTER VIL 

DON’T YOU LIKE MY DESERT, MR, HOLMES* 


FTER his noon-da y meal, Willard Holmes, 
following the example of others, sought the 
shade of the arcade in front of the hotel. 
Helping himself to a chair and moving a little away 
from the general company, he sat enjoying his cigar, 
musing on the novelty of his surroundings and re- 
viewing his impressions of the last few hours. 

It was natural that he should make comparisons — 
that he should see men and things in the light of the 
only men and things he had ever known. Abe Lee 
he measured by the standing of his own school- 
trained engineering friends, demanding that the 
desert-born and desert-trained surveyor exhibit all the 
hall-marks of Boston. He might as consistently have 
demanded that the flood of sunlight that fell in such 
blinding glory upon the new world before him should 
shine as through the smoke-grimed city atmosphere 
of Hew York. One was no more impossible than the 
other. Jefferson Worth he compared with the col- 
lege and university friends of his father — with Mr. 
Greenfield and the Hew York-bred business men cf 
his class, demanding that the western pioneer banker 
show the same characteristics that distinguished the 
cultured capitalists whose great-great-grandfathers 
were pioneers. Rubio City he saw in the light of 

116 



THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


those eastern cities that were founded in the days 
when men knew not that there was any world west 
of the Alleghanies. 

Turning his head now and then to look over the 
typical groups that sat in the shade of the arcade, 
dressed — or undressed — with all the easy freedom of 
a land too young as yet to have conventions, he 
recalled his favorite hotels in his home cities and 
smiled to think what would happen if some of these 
roughly clad individuals were to appear there among 
the guests. He did not know yet that some of these 
roughly clad individuals were as much at home in 
those same favorite hotels as was he himself. Like- 
wise as he watched the passing citizens in the street 
he recalled the scene from the windows of his club 
it home — a famous club on a famous avenue. 

That young woman, for instance, with her khaki 
divided skirt, wide sombrero, fringed gauntlets and 
the big western saddle coming there on a horse whose 
feet seemed scarcely to touch the ground as he 
plunged and pranced impatiently along, springing 
side-wise, with arched neck and pointed ears, at every 
object that could possibly be made into something 
frightful by his playful fancy! What a sensation 
she would create at home! By Jove! but she could 
ride, though. He watched with admiring eyes the 
strong, graceful figure that sat the high-strung, 
uncertain horse as easily and unconsciously as any 
one of his women friends at home would rest in a 
comfortable chair. 

As the horsewoman drew nearer he fell to wonder^ 
mg what she was like. Could she talk, for instance, ol 

117 


THE WI MING OE BARBARA WORTH 


anything but the homely details of her own rough 
life? He shrugged his shoulders as he fancied her 
©rude attempts at conversation, her uncouth lam 
guage and raw expressions. The girl turned her 
horse toward the hotel entrance. As she drew still 
nearer he saw that she was not pretty. Her mouth 
was too large, her face too strong, her skin too tanned 
jby the sun and wind. 

At the sidewalk the girl swung from the saddle 
lightly, and throwing the bridle reins over the horse’s 
head with a movement that brought out the beautiful 
lines of her figure, she turned her back upon the 
pawing, restless animal with as little concern as 
though she had delivered him to a correctly uni- 
formed groom. Ho she was not pretty; she was — 
magnificent. The adjective forced itself upon him. 

All along the arcade people were smiling in greet- 
ing, the men lifting their hats. Two cowboys in 
high-heeled boots and “chaps” paused in passing. 
^That new hawss of yours is sure some hawss, Miss 
Barbara,” said one admiringly, sombrero in hand. 

The girl smiled and Holmes saw the flash of her 
perfect teeth. “Oh, he’ll do, Bob, when I’ve worked 
him down a little.” 

She passed into the hotel, followed by the eyes 
of every man in sight including the engineer, who 
had noted with surprise the purity and richness of 
her voice* 

The New York man had turned and was watching 
a company of Indians farther down the street when 
that voice close beside him said: “I beg your par- 
don. Is this Mr. Holmes ?” 


118 


tTHE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


He turned quickly, rising to his feet. 

She smiled at his astonished look. “The clerk 
pointed you out to me. I am Barbara Worth. You 
met father at the bank this morning. Texas Joe 
and Pat told me about your being here and I could 
scarcely wait to see you. I’m afraid you must have 
thought them a little rough last night but really it’s 
only their fun. They’re as good as gold.” 

As she stood now close to him — the red blood glow* 
ing under the soft brown of her cheeks — Willard 
Holmes felt her rich personality as distinctly as one 
senses the presence of the ocean, the atmosphere of 
the woods or the air of meadows and fields. But 
by all his conventional gods, this was the unconven 
tional limit ! that this girl, the daughter of a banker, 
should openly seek out a total stranger to introduce 
herself to him on the public street before a crowd 
of hotel loungers! And the way she spoke of those 
rough men in the saloon, one would think they were 
her intimate friends. 

He managed to say: “Really, I am delighted, 
Miss Worth. May I escort you to the hotel parlor?” 

She looked at him curiously. “Oh, no indeed ! It 
is much nicer out here in the arcade, don’t you think I 
But you may bring another chair.” 

Dumbly he obeyed, feeling that every eye was on 
him and flushing with embarrassment for her. 

“When Texas and Pat told me that you were ons 
of the engineers going out with The King’s Basin 
party I could scarcely wait to see you. It makes it all 
seem so real, you know — your coming all the way 
out here from New York. I have dreamed so much 


119 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


about the reclamation of The King’s Basin Desert; 
and yon see I consider all civil engineers my personal 
friends.” 

“Indeed,” he said. It is always safely correct to 
say “indeed” as he said it, particularly when yon 
have nothing else to say. 

She regarded him doubtfully with an open*, 
straight-forward look which was somewhat discon 
eerting. She was so unconscious of the strength of 
her splendid womanhood and he felt her presence 
so vividly. 

“I suppose you must find everything out here very 
strange,” she said slowly. “Father says this is youi 
first visit to the West and of course it cant be like 
your part of the country.” 

“It is all very interesting,” he murmured. This 
also was sane and safe. 

“I know that Abe is very busy and father nevei 
leaves the hank except on business, so there is no one 
but me to look after you” — she smiled — “that is — 
no one of our King’s Basin people.” 

Willard Holmes was of that type of corporation 
servant who recognizes no interests hut the financial 
interests of the capital employing him. His services 
as a civil engineer belonged wholly to those who 
bought them for their own profit. Barbara’s inno 
cent words aroused him. What the deuce did she 
mean by “our King’s Basin people” ? Greenfield 
and his friends thought that they were The King’s 
Basin people. In the interests of his employers he 
must look into this. 


120 


ffHE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“It is very kind of you, I am sure,” he said with 
a little more warmth. “To tell the truth I was 
feeling a bit strange, you know.” 

“I’m sure you must be nearly dead with hum 
someness. Wouldn’t you like to go for a ride? I 
would so like to show you my Desert.” 

“Her Desert!” he mentally observed. Indeed he 
must look into this. Fully alert now he answered 
heartily: “I should be delighted, I’m sure. You 
are more than kind. When could we go ?” 

“Right now,” she said quickly. “Here comes 
Pablo Garcia. I’ll send him for another horse.” 
She called to the passing Mexican: “Here Pablo.” 

The young fellow came to her quickly and stood, 
sombrero in hand, his dark eyes shining with pride 
at the recognition. In Spanish she directed him to 
fetch a horse for the Senor. 

“Si, Senorita.” With a low bow the Mexican 
turned to obey. 

The eastern man, not understanding the words, 
but awakening suddenly to the meaning of the action, 
broke forth with — “Here, wait a minute.” 

“Wait,” repeated Barbara in Spanish. Pablo 
paused. 

“You are sending him for a horse and saddle?” 
asked Holmes. 

“Yes ; it will take only a few minutes.” 

“But I don’t ride, you know.” 

“You don’t ride?” The girl looked at him in 
blank amazement. “I don’t think I ever saw a man, 
before who didn’t ride.” 


121 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


He laughed indulgently. Something in her voice 
and manner touched his sense of humor. “I’m very 
sorry. I know I ought to,” he said in mock humility. 

“Oh, well ; we can drive. Fll have Pablo bring a 
rig.” She explained what she wanted to the Mexican 
in his native tongue, and this time he mounted her 
horse and rode away. 

When the man returned a little later with a span 
of restless, half-wild broncos hitched to a light buggy, 
the girl stepped into the vehicle and took the reins 
is a matter of course. With a low chuckle of amuse- 
ment the engineer took his place at her left. He 
was beginning really to enjoy the situation. Shying 
anc plunging the team demanded all of Barbara’s 
attention but she managed to steal a look at her silent 
companion now and then, as if expecting him to 
show signs of nervousness. Willard Holmes, on his 
part, was wrapped in silent admiration of her 
strength and skill. 

“They’ll cool down in a little while,” the girl vol- 
unteered, as if to reassure her guest, after a particu- 
larly wild break on the part of the horses. But on 
the extreme edge of town, where the wagon road runs 
closest to the railroad track, a passing switch engine 
proved too much for the excited team. In a moment 
the frightened animals were running toward the 
Mesa at full speed. With all her strength Barbara 
struggled to regain control, but her arms were a 
woman’s arms and the horses, quick to recognize their 
advantage, put back their ears and ran the faster in 
mad defiance. 

The girl was not frightened; she was annoyed, 

122 









“But I don’t ride, you know” 




iiliitUJk.:.. kLm. i*r-Js£i 




































































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V 


































































































THE WIEWIHG OE BARBARA WORTH 


“I — I’m afraid they are running away,” she gasped 
at last. 

To her surprise a hearty laugh was the only answer 
to her confession. She shot a quick glance over her 
left shoulder. Her companion was leaning back in 
his seat, his merry face expressing the keenest enjoy- 
ment. 

Then the girl felt a big hard shoulder pressing 
against her ; long powerful arms stretched over hers } 
and two masterful hands closed on the reins above 
her cramped fingers. She relinquished her hold and 
shrank hack out of the way with a sigh of relief and! 
— yes, a look of admiration as the horses, with a few 
wild leaps and ineffectual attempts to run again,, 
settled down to a more rational gait. 

“My!” she gasped, at the exhibition of the engi- 
neer’s strength, “I believe you could pull their front 
feet off the ground.” 

Her companion was still smiling. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you could drive?” she 
demanded. 

He chuckled maliciously, for he had understood 
her reason for taking the reins at the start and he 
had not been insensible of the meaning of her glances 
at the beginning of the ride. “You didn’t ask me, 
and besides I enjoyed seeing you handle them.” 

“But you told me you couldn’t ride ” she said 
reproachfully. 

“I can’t,” he returned. “That is I never did ; not 
as you people in this country ride.” Then he laughed 
again. “Confess now. Didn’t you expect me to 
jump, back there ?” 


123 


THE WIHNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


“I shall confess nothing/’ she retorted, sharply,, 
‘And hereafter I shall take nothing for granted.” 

On the high ground near the foot of the hill at the 
canyon’s mouth she asked him to turn around and 
stop. Willard Holmes had been too much occupied 
with the team and the girl to notice the landscape; 
and now that wonderful view of the Mesa, The 
King’s Basin and the mountains hurst upon him 
without warning. Ho sane man could he insensible 
of the grandeur of that scene. The man, whose 
eyes had looked only upon eastern landscapes that 
bore in every square foot of their limited range the 
evidence of man’s presence, was silent — awe-stricken 
before the mighty expanse of desert that lay as it was 
fashioned by the creative forces that formed the 
world. Turning at last from the glorious, ever- 
changing scenes, wrought in colors of gold and rose^ 
and lilac and purple and blue, to the girl whose eyes 
were fixed questioningly upon him, he said in a low 
voice : “Is it always like this ?” 

Barbara nodded. “Always like that, but always 
changing. It is never the same, but always the samec. 
Like — like life itself. Do you understand ?” 

He turned again to the scene in silent wonder. 

“Do you like my Desert ?” she asked, after a little 
time had passed. 

His mind caught at the expression. “Do you mean 
to say that that is The King’s Basin — that we are 
going there to work ?” 

“Why, of course.” She laughed uneasily. “Don’t 
you like it ?” 


124 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“Like it?” he repeated. “But is there anyone 
living out there?” 

She was amazed at his words. “Living there? 
Of course not. But you are going to make it so that 
thousands and thousands can live there — you and 
the others. Don’t you understand?” Her voice 
expressed a shade of impatience. 

“I’m afraid I did not realize,” he answered slowly. 

“That’s just it!” she cried, thoroughly aroused 
now and speaking passionately. “That’s just the 
trouble with you eastern men; you don’t realize. 
For years the dear old Seer and a few others have 
been trying to make you see what a work there is to 
do out here, and you won’t even look up from your 
little old truck patches to give them intelligent attern 
tion. You think this King’s Basin is big ? Why, the 
Seer says that if every foot of that land was under 
cultivation it wouldn’t he a posy bed beside what 
there is to do in the West. I suppose you must have 
done some great things in your profession, Mr. 
Holmes, or those capitalists wouldn’t have sent you 
out here ; hut you can’t have done anything that will 
mean to the world what the reclamation of The 
King’s Basin Desert will mean one hundred years 
from now, because this work is going to make the 
people realize, don’t you see ?” 

The young engineer’s face flushed under her 
words, and as he watched her strong face glowing 
with enthusiasm for the Seer’s dream, he felt the 
sweet power of her personality sweep over him as he 
felt the breeze from off the desert. He was held sm 


125 


THE WmmNQ OF BARBARA WORTH 


fthough by some magic spell — not by the lure of her 
splendid womanhood, but by that and something else 
—something that was like the country of which she 
spoke so passionately. And he remembered wonder- 
ing if this girl could talk ! 

He relieved the tense strain of the situation by 
holding out the reins and saying, with a whimsical 
smile: 

“Here, you can drive.” 

She caught his meaning and smiled in acknowl- 
edgment. “Thank you, but I don’t want to drivec 
That’s really the man’s part, you know. I suppose,” 
she added, “that you think me bold and mannish and 
coarse and everything else that a girl ought not to be s , 
but I” — she turned away her face and her voice 
trembled — “but you can’t understand, Mr. Holmes, 
what this desert means to me.” 

“Perhaps I don’t understand,” he said seriously 
“But I am sure of this: somewhere back of every 
really great work that has ever been accomplished in 
any age there has been a woman like you.” 

Then they drove back to the hotel where she left 
Sum and drove to the barn herself. A few minutes 
later he saw her pass again, riding her own quick- 
stepping horse. 

During the two weeks that followed before the 
Seer’s return, while Abe Lee was busy getting ready 
for the work in Barbara’s Desert, Willard Holmes 
and the girl were often together. The man from 
Hew York admitted somewhat proudly, Barbara 
thought — as if the very confession somehow estab- 
lished the superiority of the East— that he was shock- 

126 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

ingly ignorant of all things Western. But appar- 
ently overlooking the subtle assumption in the man- 
ner of his confession, she laughingly undertook his 
education. For one thing he must learn to ride. 

“Really,” he demurred, “I don’t think I care for 
ihat particular amusement. I have never taken it up 
at home, you know, but of course if it is the thing to 
do, why — ” 

“Amusement!” she laughed. “Riding isn’t an 
amusement ; it’s a necessity. The horse is our street 
car and railroad and steamboat. Where you think 
city blocks and squares we think miles; and where 
you think miles we think hundreds of miles. Two 
legs are not enough in this country, so we double the 
number and go on four. You’ll find yourself wishing 
for eight before you get back from The King’s 
Basin.” 

So, at her bidding, Texas Joe secured a horse for 
him and almost every afternoon the two were in their 
saddles. And every night over his evening cigar at 
the hotel the engineer found himself reviewing the 
incidents and conversations of the ride; forced to 
wonder at some new and unexpected revelation of the 
mind and character of this western girl who was so 
interested in the reclamation work and so uncon- 
scious of her womanly power. He came quickly to 
look forward to their hours together and to plan and 
carry out many conversational experiments. Invari- 
ably he had his reward. 

One afternoon he tried skillfully to shape the con- 
versation to the end that he might tell her — quite 
without ostentation— of the proud history and social 

127 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


position of his family and of his own rank in the 
upper eastern world. 

She humored him patiently, helping him out with 
questions and artless, admiring exclamations and 
comments, until he was quite sure that she was prop- 
erly impressed. Then she said, in a tone of honest 
sympathy: “But you musn’t let all this worry you, 
you know.” 

“Worry me?” he echoed in amazement. 

She nodded seriously, but with a glint of mischief 
in her eyes. “Yes, I can understand that it must be 
hard for a man to do his work handicapped as you 
are but no one away out here will count it against 
you. Every man here has a chance no matter what 
his past has been. You see, we don’t care what a 
man has been or what his fathers were; we accept 
trim for what he is and value him for what he can do. 
So all yon need to do is to forget and go straight 
ahead with your work and you’ll easily live it down. 
Only, of course,” she added gently, “I wouldn’t 
advise you to tell everybody what you have told me= 
Some might not understand.” 

He retorted warmly: “Of course you cannot 
understand our point of view. Everything is so new 
and raw out here that you have no social standards/ 51 

“New and raw?” She laughed again. “Why* 
Mr. Holmes, you are the only new thing in this 
country. Do you see that man over there ?” 

They were riding south on the road that follow© 
the river and she pointed to an Indian who sat idly 
m. the shade of his pole and mud hut 


128 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“What’s the matter with him?” asked the engi- 
neer. 

“Nothing. Only he, too, has ancestors. Ages 
and ages before your forefathers knew that this con- 
tinent existed, that man’s people lived in a city not 
far from here — a city with laws, customs, religions, 
social standards — yes, and civil engineers, for you 
can easily trace the lines of their canals, in which 
they brought water from the river and carried it 
through a tunnel in the mountains to irrigate their 
land, just as you modern engineers are planning tc 
do. The Seer and I rode over there once and he told 
me about it. I’ll show you, if you like. New! Why 
the West was ages old before the East was discovered ! 
The Seer says that if Columbus had come first to the 
western coast New England to-day would still be an 
uninhabitable, howling wilderness.” 

“But I don’t see what all this has to do with socia) 
standards,” he said, nettled at her reply. 

“Simply this. If a man’s position in life is to be 
fixed by the age of his family or the number of years 
that they have occupied a certain section of the coun- 
try, then that Indian is your superior. His ances- 
tors lived here long before yours settled in New 
England.” 

“But we are proud of our ancestors because of 
what they were and what they accomplished. We 
have a right to be. Think of what the world owes 
them !” 

“Oh, I must have misunderstood you. You seemed 
fto place so much emphasis on their having come cvcti 


129 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


in the Mayflower. They were grand — those brave 
old pioneers. I am proud of them too for what they 
were. And did they have social positions by which 
they fixed a man’s place in life, I wonder?” 

“Of course they could not have had a society with 
the wealth and culture that we have now. The country 
was all new — something like the West is to-day, I 
suppose.” 

She laughed aloud. “And you are proud of them! 
How fine! Isn’t it splendid to think that in two or 
three hundred years, when the West has been civil- 
ized and the Desert reclaimed as your pioneer fore- 
fathers civilized and reclaimed the East, when wealth 
and culture have come, a man’s social standing will 
be determined by his relation to us and people will 
be proud of what we are doing? After all, Mr. 
Holmes, the only difference between the East and the 
West esems to be that you have ancestors and that we 
are going to be ancestors. You look back to what has 
been; we look forward to what will be. You are 
proud and take rank because of what your fore- 
fahers did; we are proud and take rank because of ] 
what we are doing. And we are doing exactly what 
they did ! Honestly now, which would you rather-— j 
worship an ancestor or be an ancestor worshipped?” 

When they had laughed together over this he said : 

“I am beginning to understand, Miss Worth, that the 
ideal American, whom we are always hearing about 
but never meet, must be a Westerner; he couldn’t 
possibly be of the East, could he?” His words were 
almost a sneer. 

“The ideal American is neither Eastern nor 

130 


THE WIHHHSTG OF BARBARA WORTH 


Western in the way you mean, Mr. Holmes. He is 
'both.” 

“ Indeed? You admit that we of the East could 
give him something, then ?” 

“You could give him all that your forefathers have 
given you.” 

“And what could the West give him ?” 

She looked at him steadily a moment before an 
swering slowly: “I think you will have to find that 
out for yourself. 5 * 

He was taken a little aback by her answer. It 
sounded as though she wished to end the conversation. 
But her talk had stirred him strongly, though he 
tried to hide this under cover of a cynical tone. He 
said triumphantly: “But you see, after all, you 
admit that one is not altogether hopeless because he 
happens to come of a good family!” 

“Certainly I admit it !” she cried, “but don’t you 
see what I mean ? Ancestors are to be counted as a 
valuable asset, but not as working capital.” 

As she spoke she turned toward him again with 
that steady look, and the man felt the strange, mys- 
terious power of her personality, the challenging lure 
of her young womanhood — that and more. What 
was it back of those steady eyes that called to him, 
inspired him, that almost frightened him ; that made 
him feel as Barbara herself felt in the presence of 
the Desert. 

There was no trace of cynicism in his voice now, 
nor any hint of a sneer on his face, as Willard 
Holmes straightened unconsciously in his saddle. 

“By George!” he said, “it’s good to hear you say 

131 


BCHE WIKN1HG OF BAEBARA WOETH 

mose things. Nobody talks that way nowadays. I 
suppose our great-great-grandmothers did, though,' 

She colored with pleasure, but answered lightly- 
“That puts me a long ways behind the times, doesn't 
it?” 

“Or a long way ahead,” he offered. 

In the meantime, while the education of Willard 
Holmes progressed, the party that was to make the 
first survey in Barbara’s Desert was being formed 
and equipped under the direction of Abe Lee 
Horses, mules, wagons, camp outfits and supplies 
with Indian and Mexican laborers, teamsters of sev 
sral nationalities and here and there a Chinese cook* 
were assembled. Toward the last from every pari 
of the great West country came the surveyors and 
engineers — sunburned, khaki-clad men most £ them* 
toughened by their out-of-doors life, overflowing with 
health and good spirits. They hailed om another 
joyously and greeted Abe with extravagant delight, 
overwhelming him with questions. For the word had 
gone out that the Seer, beloved by all the tribe, and 
his lieutenant, almost equally beloved, were making 
“big medicine” in The King’s Basin Desert. Hot a 
man of them would have exchanged his chance to go 
for a crown and scepter. 

The eastern engineer met these hardened profes- 
sional brothers cordially He listened to their rem 
iniseences of life and work in mountain, plain and 
desert with interest, discovering to his surprise that 
most of them were eastern bom and bred, with 
technical training in the schools with which he wa§ 
familiar. But their almost boyish enthusiasm ovejr 


132 


pTHE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


the work ahead, their admiration for the Chief and 
for Abe Lee he viewed with cold indifference. 

With all his duties Abe found frequent oppor- 
tunity to report to Barbara, for the girl’s interest in 
every detail of the preparations was never failing. 
Her friends protested that they never saw her now 
at their little social affairs, for she was always off 
somewhere with some engineer, and that when they 
did chance to catch her alone she would talk of noth- 
ing but that horrid King’s Basin country. 

Every evening, early after supper, the surveyor 
would slip away from his companions at the hotel 
to spend an hour on the veranda at the banker’s home 
talking in his straightforward way with Barbara 
and her father, of the work that was so dear to the 
heart of the girl. And because it was his work and 
in the nature of a report to one who, he felt, had in 
some subtle way authority to hear, Abe talked with 
a freedom that would have astonished many of his 
friends who thought they knew him best. 

Three times while Abe was there Willard Holmes 
appeared, and each time, at the engineer’s presence, 
the surveyor’s painful diffidence became apparent and 
he soon- — with some stammering excuse — left. 

The last time this happened Barbara walked down 
to the gate with the painfully embarrassed surveyor. 
Everything was in readiness for the coming of the 
Chief, who would arrive the next day, and the follow- 
ing morning the expedition would start for the field. 

“Buenos noches, hermano — Good night, brother,” 
sailed Barbara, as the tall surveyor walked away 
itawn the street. 


138 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


“Buenos noches,” came the answer. 

Willard Holmes heard and frowned. “You seem 
to be very fond of Spanish, Miss Worth/’ he said, 
when the girl came back to the porch. “I notice you 
use it so often with our long friend there.” 

Barbara laughed at his evident displeasure. “The 
language seems to belong so to this country. To me 
its colors are all soft and warm like the colors of the 
Desert. I never thought of it before, but I suppose 
I use it so often with Abe because he, too, seems to 
belong to this country.” 

The engineer looked at her curiously. “I don’t 
think I quite see the connection. You mean that he 
has Spanish blood ?” 

“Hot at all,” said Barbara quickly. “But he is 
desert-born and desert-trained. He has the same 
patient stillness, the same natural bigness and the 
same unconquerable hardness.” 

“Oh, but you say the desert is not unconquerable; 
that it will be subdued. Your analogy is at fault.” 

“Ho, Mr. Holmes, it is you who do not understand., 
There is something about this country that will 
always remain as it is now. Abe Lee is like that 
Whatever changes may come, he will always be Abe 
Lee of the Desert.” 

“Your views are really poetical and your character 
analyses very clever, Miss Worth, but after all men 
are men wherever you find them. Human nature is 
the same the world over.” 

“Oh, I’m sure that is so, Mr. Holmes. I know 
there must be many western men in the east, only 
they haven’t found themselves yet ” 


134 


EHE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

He laughed heartily as he rose to go. “Will yens 
ever bid me good night in your language of the 
desert ?” he asked. 

“Perhaps, when you have learned that language/ 5 * 
she said with an answering smile. 

“By George, I shall try to learn it,” he answeredo 

“Oh, I wish you would,” came the earnest answer J 
“I know you could.” 

And again the engineer felt strongly, back of her 
words, that unvoiced appeal. As he went down the 
street he knew that she did not refer to the Spanish 
tongue when she wished him to learn the language of 
her Desert. 

Alone in her room that night Barbara^ mind was 
too active for sleep and she sat for a long time by the 
open window, looking out into the vast silent world 
under the still stars. 

Until she introduced herself to Willard Holmes* 
Barbara had never known eastern people. Tourists 
she had seen and, at rare intervals, met in a casual 
way. But they had always examined her with such 
frankly curious eyes that she had felt like some 
strange animal on exhibition and had repaid their 
interest with all the indifference she could commando 
Occasionally also she had been introduced to eastern 
business men, whom she chanced upon talking with 
her father in the bank, but they had turned quickly 
away to the matters of their world after the usual 
polite nothings demanded by the introduction. The 
home-land and life of Willard Holmes were as for- 
eign vo her as her land and life were strange to him c 

Sc it happened in this instance also that in ths 

135 


THE WINDING OF BARBARA WORTH 


education of the eastern engineer the teacher learned 
ijuite as much as the pupil. 

The traits that stood out so prominently in the 
western men whom Barbara knew and so much 
admired were, in Willard Holmes, buried deeply 
sunder the habits and customs of the life and thought 
of the world to which he belonged — buried so deeply 
that the man himself scarcely realized that they 
were there and so was led to wonder at himself when 
his blood tingled with some strong presentation oi 
this western girl’s views. 

But Barbara knew. Beneath the conventionalities 
of his class the girl felt the man a powerful char= 
acter, with all the latent strength of his natiom 
building ancestors. She wanted him — as she put it 
to herself — to wake up. Would he ? Would he learn 
the language of her Desert? She believed that he 
would, even as she believed in the reclamation of 
The King’s Basin lands. 

And she was glad — glad that the Seer and Abe and 
Tex and Pat and her father — the men who had 
brought her out of the Desert — were going now back 
into that land of death to save that land itself from 
itself. And — she whispered it softly under the stars 
—she was glad — glad that Willard Holmes had corns 
to go with them — to learn the language of her land. 


130 


CHAPTER VIIL 

WMY WILLARD HOLMES STAYED, 

LOWLY, day by day, the surveying party 
under the Seer pushed deeper and deeper 
into the awful desolation of The King’s 
Desert. They were the advance force of 2 
mighty army ordered ahead by Good Business — the 
master passion of the race. Their duty was to learn 
the strength of the enemy, to measure its resources, 
to spy out its weaknesses and to gather data upon 
which a campaign would be planned. 

Under the Seer the expedition was divided into 
several smaller parties, each of which was assigned 
to certain defined districts. Here and there, at seem- 
ingly careless intervals in the wide expanse, the white 
tents of the division camps shone through the many 
(Colored veils of the desert. Tail, thin columns of 
dust lifted into the sky from the water wagons that 
crawled ceaselessly from water hole to camp and 
from camp to water hole — hung in long clouds above 
the supply train laboring heavily across the dun plain 
to and from Rubio City — or rose in quick puffs and 
twisting spirals from the feet of some saddle horse 
bearing a messenger from the Chief to some distant 
lieutenant. 

Every morning, from each of the camps, squads of 
khakLelad men bearing transit and level, stake and 

137 



THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


pole and flag — the weapons of their warfare — put 
out in different directions into the vast silence that 
seemed to engulf them. Every evening the squads 
returned, desert-stained and weary, to their rest 
under the lonesome stars. Every morning the sun 
broke fiercely up from the long level of the eastward 
plain to pour its hot strength down upon these pigmy 
creatures, who dared to invade the territory over 
which he had, for so many ages, held undisputed 
dominion. Every evening the sun plunged fiercely 
down behind the purple wall of mountains that shut 
in the Basin on the west, as if to gather strength in 
some nether world for to-morrow’s fight. 

Always there was the same flood of white light 
from the deep, dry sky that was uncrossed by shred 
of cloud ; always the same wide, tawny waste, harshly 
glaring near at hand — filled with awful mysteries 
under the many colored mists of the distance; until 
the eyes ached and the soul cried out in wonder at 
it all. Always there were the same deep nights, with 
the lonely stars so far away in the velvet purple 
darkness; the soft breathing of the desert; the 
pungent smell of greasewood and salt-bush ; the 
weird, quavering call of the ground ©wl ; or the wild 
coyote chorus, as if the long lost spirits of long ago 
savage races cried out a dreadful -warning to these 
invaders. 

And in all of this the land made itself felt against 
these men in the silent menace, the still waiting, the 
subtle call, the promise, the threat and the challenge 
td La Palma de la Mano de Dios. 

To Barbara, who rode often in those days to the 

138 


THE WINNING OF BABBAKA WOKTH 


yery rim of the Basin, there to search the wild, wid© 
land with straining eyes for signs of her friends, th© 
white glare of the camps was lost in the bewildering 
maze of color. The columns, clouds and spirals of 
dust — save perhaps from a near supply wagon coming 
m or passing out — could not be distinguished from 
the whirling dust-devils that danced always over th© 
hot plains. The toiling pigmy dots of the little army 
were far beyond her vision’s range. It was as though 
the fierce land had swallowed up horses, wagons and 
meUc Only through the frequent letters brought by 
the freighters did she know that all was going well 

Perhaps the gray lizard that climbed to the ton 
of a line stake wondered at the strange new growth 
that had sprung so suddenly from the familiar soil ; 
or perhaps the horned-toad, scuttling to cover, mar- 
veled at the strange sounds as the stakes were driven 
and man called to man figures and directions. 
Perhaps the scaly side-winder, springing his warning 
rattle at the approaching step, questioned what new 
enemy this was ; or the lone buzzard, wheeling high 
over head, watched the tiny moving figures with 
wondering hopefulness, and the coyote, that hushed 
for a little his wild music to follow up the wind this 
strange new scent, laughed at the Seer’s dream. 

These lines of stakes that every day stretched 
farther and farther into and across the waste seemed. 
In the wideness of the land, pitifully foolish. Looking 
back over the lines, the men who set them could 
scarcely distinguish the way they had come. But 
they knew that the stakes were there. They knew 
that some day that other, mightier company, the maim 

139 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


army, would move along the way they had marked 
to meet the strength of the barren waste with the 
strength of the great river and take for the race the 
wealth of the land. The sound of human voices was 
flat and ineffectual in that age-old solitude, but the 
speakers knew that following their feeble voices 
would come the shouting, ringing, thundering chorus 
of the life that was to follow them into that silent 
land of death. 

With the slow passing of the weeks came the trying 
out and testing of character inevitable to such a 
work. The concealing habits of civilization were 
dropped. Kindly, useful conventionalities were lost. 
Face to face with the unconquered forces of nature* 
nothing remained but the real strength or weakness 
of the individual himself. In some there were 
developed unguessed powers of endurance that bore 
the hard days without flinching; cheerful optimism 
that laughed at the appalling immensity of the task ; 
strength of spirit that made a jest of galling discoim 
forts; courage that smiled in the face of dangers.. 
These were the strength of the party. Some there 
were who grew sullen, quarrelsome, and vicious in a 
kind of mad rebellion. These must be held in check, 
controlled and governed by the Seer with the assist- 
ance of Abe Lee and his helpers. Some became silent 
and moody, faint hearted and afraid. These were 
strengthened and guarded and given fresh courage. 
Some grew peevish and fretful, whining and com 
plaining. These were disciplined wisely, forced 
gently into line. Some staggered and fell by the 


140 


THE WISHING OF BARBARA WORTH 


way. These were sent back and the ranks closed up. 
But the work — always the work went on. 

To Willard Holmes the life was a slow torture, a 
revelation and an education. He found himself 
stripped of everything upon which he was accustomed 
to rely — family traditions, social position, influential 
friends, scholarship, experience in the world to which 
he was horn — all these were nothing in The Hollow 
of God’s Hand. Slowly he learned that the power of 
such wealth is limited to certain fields. Hew York 
was very far away. He felt that he had been hope- 
lessly banished to a strange world. Many times he 
would have thrown it all up and turned back with 
other deserters, but there was red blood in his veins. 
Stubborn pride and the thought of the girl who had 
hoped that he would “learn the language of her 
country” enabled him to hold on. 

Once he ventured to speak to the Chief in a Lope« 
less voice of the evident impossibility of ever com 
verting that terrible land into a habitable country^ 
and the Seer, strong in the strength of his dream s 
had looked at him from the still depth of his brown 
eyes without a word — looked until the younger man 
had turned away, his cheeks flushed with shame and 
his spirit doing homage to the strength of the master 
spirit of the work. And the eastern engineer remem- 
bered with new understanding his talks with Barbara 
Worth. 

When they pulled the dead coyote from the only 
water hole within two days’ travel a*xd Holmes nearly 
fainted at the sickening sight, it was Texas Joe who 


141 


THE WINNING OF BAEBAEA WOETH 


saved the day for him by remarking, with an air of 
philosophical musing, after a deep draught of the 
tepid, tainted water : “Hit ain’t so bad as you might 
think, Mr. Holmes, onct your oilfactory nerves has 
become somewhat regulated to the aroma and your 
palate has been eddicated to the point of appreciatin’ 
the deliciously foreign flavor. In the judgment of 
some connysoors, it has several points the lead of 
them imported fancy drinks you get in Frisco.” 

When a Mexican died horribly from the bite of a 
rattlesnake, and Holmes himself was barely saved 
from a like fate by the prompt action and ready 
knowledge of Abe Lee, it was the slow smile of the 
desert-bred surveyor that stiffened him to go on. 

And when he was nearly beaten by a three days’ 
sand-storm so searching that even the flap-jacks and 
bacon gritted in his teeth and his blood-shot eyes 
smarted in his head like coals of fire and his skin 
felt as though it had been sand-papered, when he 
would have sold his soul for a bath and actually 
began to get his things together in readiness for the 
next wagon out, it was Pat, who, with the devilish 
ingenuity of an Irish imp, mocked and jeered at him 
for a quitter, “fit to act only as lady’s maid or to 
serve soft dhrinks in a corner drug-sthore,” until his 
fainting heart took fire and, cursing his tormentor 
with all the oaths he could muster, he offered to whip, 
single-handed, the whole grinning camp and stayed. 

Thus he was advanced to the second degree, when 
he began to sense the spirit of the untamed land and 
of the men who went to meet it with sheer joy of 
the conquest; when he began to glory in the very 

142 


THE WIPING OF BARBARA WORTH 


greatness of the task; and the long dormant spirit 
of his ancestors stirred within him as he caught 
glimpses of the vision that inspired the Seer or^ 
perhaps it should be written, the vision that tempted 
his employers, James Greenfield and his fellow 
capitalists. 

He was still far from ready for the final degree f 
but even that might come. 

Through all those hard days Jefferson Worth 
moved with the same careful, precise, certain manner 
that distinguished him in his work at home. Even 
the desert sun that so tanned, blistered and blackened 
the faces of his companions could not mark the gray 
pallor of that mask-like face. Ho disturbing incident 
or unforeseen difficulty could wring from him an 
exclamation or change the measured tones of his 
colorless voice. He seemed to accept everything as 
though he had foreseen, carefully considered and 
dismissed it from his mind before it came to pass. 
Day after day he rode in every direction over the 
land within easy reach of the many camps ; familiar 
izing himself with every detail of the work, observing 
soil, studying conditions, poring over maps and 
figures with the Seer, verifying estimates, listening 
to and taking part in the many councils of the 
leaders. But not once did anyone catch a hint of 
what was going on behind those expressionless blue 
eyes that seemed to see everything without effort and 
to be incapable of expressing the emotions of the 
soul within. 

To the men he was the visible representative of 
that invisible power that willed their going forth 


143 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


He was Capital — Money — Business incarnate. They 
set him apart as one not of their world. In his 
presence laughter was hushed, jests were unspoken. 
Silently they waited for him to speak first. When 
he conversed with them they answered thoughtfully 
in subdued tones, seeming to feel that their words 
were received by one who placed upon them un 
dreamed-of values. Filled as these men were with 
the enthusiasm of their work, they were never uncon- 
scious of the knowledge that but for the power repre- 
sented by Jefferson Worth their work would be 
impossible. 

Small wonder, then, that there was consternation 
in the headquarters camp that night when Pat 
appeared, hat in hand, before the company of leaders 
in the Seer’s office tent. “I beg yer pardon, Sorr.” 

“What is it, Pat?” asked the Seer, and all eyes 
were turned upon the burly Irishman, whose face 
and voice as well as his presence at that hour 
betrayed some unusual incident. “ ’Tis this, Sorr, 
Has anywan seen Mr. Worth this avenin’ ?” 

Every head was shaken negatively. 

“Was he not at supper wid you gintlemen ?” 

“Why no, he was not,” returned the Seer. “But 
it is nothing unusual for him to be late. Have you 
asked the cook ?” 

“We have, Sorr. Ye see, whin ut come time to 
turn in an’ he hadn’t shown up an’ Tex seen that 
his horse wasn’t wid the bunch, we got a bit unaisy 
like. We axed the cook, an’ we’ve been to his tent, 
an’ we’ve axed the men.” 


114 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


“Perhaps he has put up at one of the other camps/* 
suggested a surveyor. 

“That’s not like, Sorr, for he rode northeast thi§ 
jaomin’. Me an’ Tex watched him go*, an’ there’s 
divil a camp in that direction as we all know.” 

“He surely intended to return here or he would 
have told us,” said the Seer. “You know how careful 
lie is. What do you think, Abe?” 

Before Abe could answer a Mexican ran up, and 
Pat, turning, hauled him into the tent by the necko 
“Fwhat the hell is ut, ye greaser?” 

“Senor Texas send me quick,” the little brown man 
panted, bowing low to the company, sombrero in 
hand. “Senor Worth’s horse, he just come. In the 
saddle is no one. Senor Worth he is not come. I 
think he is gone.” 

Before the Mexican finished speaking there was a 
rush of feet and he was alone. With a shrug of his 
shoulders and a flash of his white teeth, he turned 
leisurely to follow, saying half aloud: “It is all in 
La Palma de la Mano de Dios, Senor Worth. Maybe 
so you come back, maybe this time not.” He stood 
for a moment looking into the black vault of the 
night ; then, with another shrug, retired to his blanket 
to sleep. 

Abe Lee was first to reach the corral where Texas 
Joe, by the light of a lantern, was examining Mr c 
Worth’s horse. No word was exchanged between 
them while the surveyor in turn looked carefully 
over the animal. The others, coming up, stood silent; 
a little apart, waiting for the word of these two. 


145 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“What do you make of it, Abe?” asked the Seer 
when the long surveyor turned toward him. 

Deliberately rolling a cigarette, Abe answered 
from a cloud of smoke : “He is left afoot too far out 
to walk in, likely. We’ll go for him in the morning.” 

A startled exclamation came from Willard Holmea, 
but no one heeded as the surveyor turned to Texas 
Joe. “How do you figure it, Tex ?” 

“The same,” came the laconic answer. “This hei e 
eavuse wasn’t broke to stand. He must have been 
tied somewheres, ’cause the reins are busted.” He 
pointed to the pieces of leather hanging from the bit 
“The canteen is gone. Jefferson Worth is too old t 
hand on the desert to leave it on the horse. He 
likely tied the pony to a bush and went to climb a 
hill or something. Mr. Hawss breaks loose and pulls 
for home. It happened a good way out, ’cause the 
pony’s pretty well tired, which he wouldn’t a-been* 
travelin’ light, if Mr. Worth hadn’t ridden some 
distance before it happened. An’ if he was nearer 
the pony would have been in earlier. He’ll likelf 
show us a smoke in the morning and even if he don’t 
it’ll be easy to trail him, ’cause there ain’t no wind 
Will I go, sir ?” He looked at the Chief. 

“Yes ; you and Abe, don’t you think ?” 

Abe assented and the men turned toward the tents 
while Texas led the tired horse away. 

The Hew York engineer approached the Chief, 
“Do I understand, sir, that you propose to do nothing 
until morning?” 

The Seer faced him. “There is nothing to do, Mr . 
Holmes,” he said simply. 


146 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Willard Holmes was amazed at the man’s apparent 
unconcern. “Nothing to do ?” he exclaimed. “Why 
don’t yon arouse the men and send them in every 
direction to search. ? Why man, don’t you realize tbs 
situation % Mr. Worth may he hurt. He may even 
be dying alone out there ! I protest ! It’s monstrous ! 
It’s cowardly, inhuman, to do nothing!” 

The company, attracted by the loud words, paused, 
Abe Lee, standing beside his Chief, rolled another 
cigarette while the engineer was speaking. 

The Seer answered patiently: “But Mr. Holmes,, 
we could accomplish nothing by such a search as you 
suggest. The territory is too large to cover with a 
hundred times the number of men we have in camp. 
At daylight, when they can follow his trail, Abe and 
Tex will ride to him as fast as their horses can go. 
Granting that the worst you suggest may be true, our 
plan is the only sane way.” 

“But I protest, sir. You should make the attempt, 
I will not submit to idly doing nothing while a life 
is in danger — particularly that of a man like Mr, 
Worth. I shall go alone if no one will help me, and” 
- — he straightened himself haughtily — “I shall report 
this to Mr. Greenfield and the men interested with 
him in this work.” 

At the last words one of those rare changes swept 
over the big engineer, and the witnesses saw a side 
of the Chief’s nature that was seldom revealed. His 
eyes flashed and his face hardened as he burst forth 
in tones that startled his hearers: “Report me? 
You ! Report and be damned, sir. I was old at this 
work when you were a sucking babe* These men 

147 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


were learning the desert when you were attending a 
fashionable dancing school. Why, you damned lily- 
fingered. tenderfoot, you couldn’t find your way five 
hundred yards in this country without a guide or a 
compass. How, sir, I’m running this outfit and if 
you have any protests against my cowardly inhu- 
manity I advise you to smother them in your manly 
breast, or, by hell! I’ll ship you out on the first 
wagon to-morrow morning and let you report to 
Greenfield tnat you were fired because you didn’t 
know your work yourself and hadn’t intelligence 
enough to listen to those who did !” 

The Chief paused for breath, and Willard Holmes, 
whose experience with large corporations was ex- 
pected to make him peculiarly valuable to the capital- 
ists who sent him out, turned away with what dignity 
he could command. 

“Ilowly MitherJ” came a hoarse whisper from 
Pat to Abe ; “I made sure the poor bhoy wud 
shrivel up. Sich a witherin’, blistherin’ tongue lashin’ 
wud scorch the hide av the owld divil himsilf.” He 
looked admiringly after the Seer. “D’ye think, now, 
that the poor lad will be afther tacklin’ the job alone, 
like he said ? Sure, ut’s nerve he has all right but he 
lacks judgment.” 

“Yes, he has the nerve all right,” returned Abe 
slowly, “and we’d better keep an eye on him. Tell 
Tex.” 

Willard Holmes knew that he owed his Chief an 
apology and he promised himself to make it in the 
morning. But neither the explanation of the Seer 
aor the bitter humiliation that he had brought upon 

148 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

himself could turn his thoughts from Mr. Worth 
alone on the desert. To sleep was impossible. The 

hanker might be As he tossed in his blankets 

the engineer pictured to himself a hundred things 
that might have happened to Barbara’s father. 

It was some two hours later when Pat touched 
Abe Lee on the shoulder. 

“All right, Pat,” said the surveyor, fully awake 
and in possession of all his senses in an instant. 

“There’s a light bobbin’ off into nowhere an’ the 
lad’s blankets are impty.” 

Fifteen minutes later a quiet voice within three 
feet of Willard Holmes asked: “Shall I go with 
you, sir?” 

The eastern man jumped like a nervous womam 
He had not heard the approach of the surveyor, who 
walked with the step of an Indian. “I couldn’t 
sleep,” he explained. “I thought I would follow the 
tracks a little way out at least. He may not be so 
far away as you think.” 

After Abe had taken time to make his cigarette 
he spoke meditatively. “Mr. Worth rode a horse.” 

“I understand that,” returned the man with the 
lantern tartly. “I saw him go this morning and I 
saw the horse to-night. This is the track.” 

From another cloud of smoke came the quiet, 
respectful answer: “But this is a mule’s track, Mr. 
Holmes. It is Manuel Ramirez’s mule. See, he has 
a broken shoe on the off fore-foot. I noticed it yes- 
terday when I sent Manuel to hunt a water hole. 
Besides, Mr* Worth rode northeast; not in this 
direction.” 


149 


CHAPTER IX. 

■THE MASTER PASSION — •• GOOD BUSINES&” 



1 HEX Jefferson Worth left headquarters camp 
that morning, his purpose was to ride over 
a part of the territory lying southeast of the 
old San Felipe trail between the sand hills and the 
old beach-line. He had covered practically all of the 
land on the western side of the ancient sea-bed, from 
the delta dam at the southern end north to the lowest 
point in the Basin, and southward again on the 
eastern side as far as the old trail. There remained 
for him to see only this section in the southeast. 

It was nearly noon when the banker, from a slight 
elevation that afforded him a view of the surrounding 
country, recognized the group of sand hills and, by 
the general course of Dry River, distinguished the 
spot where the San Felipe trail crosses the deep 
arroyo. Occupied with his thoughts, he had ridden 
farther from camp than he had realized. He should 
turn back. But the distant scene of the desert tragedy 
called him. He became possessed of a desire to visit 
once more the spot that was so closely associated with 
the child, who had so strangely come into his life 
and whom he loved as his own daughter. 

An hour later he dismounted to stand beside the 
water hole where, with his companions, he had found 
the dead woman with the empty canteen by her side. 

150 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


The incidents of that hour were as vivid in the 
banker’s memory as if it had all happened only the 
day before. He remembered how Texas Joe had 
lifted the canteen and, inverting it, had held out to 
them his finger moistened with the last drop of water 
in the cloth-covered vessel ; and how he and his com- 
panions, standing by the dead body of the woman, 
had turned to each other in startled awe at the 
coyotes’ ghostly call in the dusk. He heard again 
with thrilling clearness the baby’s plaintive voice: 
“Mamma, mamma ! Barba wants drink. Please 
bring drink, mamma. Barba’s ’fraid!” 

Going a short way up the wash, he stood with 
uncovered head on the very spot where he had knell; 
with out-stretched hands before the big-eyed, brown- 
haired baby girl, who, crouching under the high 
bank, shrank back from him in fear. He saw the 
frightened look in her eyes and heard the sweet voice 
cry: “Go ’way! Go ’way! Go ’way!” Then he 
saw the expression on the little face change as Pat 
and Tex and the boy tried to reassure her; saw her 
hold up her baby hands in full confidence to the big 
engineer ; and felt again the pain and humiliation in 
his heart. 

Why had the baby instinctively feared him ? Why 
had she turned from him to the Seer ? Why, he 
J asked himself bitterly, had she always feared him ? 
Why did she still shrink from him? For Barbara 
did shrink from him, unconsciously — unintentionally 
— but, to Jefferson Worth, none the less plainly now 
than when he knelt before her that night in the 
desert. And it hurt him now as it had, hurt him 


151 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


then; hurt the more, perhaps, because Barbara did 
not know — because her attitude was instinctive. 

Still living over again the incidents and emotions 
of that hour in the desert night, he walked back to 
the crossing and, leading his horse, climbed the little 
hill out of the wash to the spot where, with Texas 
and Pat, he had rendered the last possible service to 
the unknown woman, who had given her life for the 
life of the child — the child that was his but not his. 
Long ago he had marked the grave with a simple 
headstone bearing the only name possible — the one 
word: “Mother” — and the date of her death. 

Then mounting again, he rode swiftly along the 
old trail toward the sand hills in the near distance. 
The great drifts, in the years that had passed, had 
been moved on by the wind until the wagon and all 
that remained of the half-buried outfit were now 
hidden somewhere deep in its heart. But the general 
form of the sand hill was still the same. 

Dismounting, Mr. Worth tied his horse to a scrag- 
gly, half-buried mesquite and, taking his canteen 
from the saddle, climbed laboriously up the steep, 
sandy slope. He would look over the country from 
that point and then make straight for camp, for it 
was getting well on in the afternoon. From the top 
of the hill he could see the wide reaches of The 
King’s Basin Desert sweeping away on every side. 
At his feet the bare sand hills themselves lay like 
huge, rolling, wind-piled drifts of tawny snow glisten- 
ing in the sunlight with a blinding glare. Beyond 
these were the gray and green of salt-bush, mesquite 
and greasewood, with the dun earth showing here 


152 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


and there in ragged patches. Still farther away the 
detail of hill and hummock and bush and patch was 
lost in the immensity of the scene, while the dull 
tones of gray and green and brown were over-laid 
with the ever-changing tints of the distance, until, 
to the eyes, the nearer plain became an island sur- 
rounded on every side by a mighty, many-colored sea 
that broke only at the foot of the purple mountain 
wall. 

The work of the expedition was nearly finished. 
The banker knew now from the results of the survey 
and from his own careful observations and estimates 
that the Seer’s dream was not only possible from an 
engineering point of view, hut from the careful 
capitalist’s standpoint, would justify a large invest- 
ment. Lying within the lines of the ancient beach 
and thus below the level of the great river, were 
hundreds of thousands of acres equal in richness of 
the soil to the famous delta lands of the Nile. The 
bringing of the water from the river and its distribu- 
tion through a system of canals and ditches, while a 
work of great magnitude requiring the expenditure 
of large sums of money, was, as an engineering prob- 
lem, comparatively simple. 

As Jefferson Worth gazed at the wonderful scene, 
a vision of the changes that were to come to that land 
passed before him. He saw first, following the nearly 
finished work of the engineers, an army of men 
beginning at the river and pushing out into the desert 
with their canals, bringing with them the life-giving 
water. Soon, with the coming of the water, would 
begin the coming of the settlers. Hummocks would 

153 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


be leveled, washes and arroyos filled, ditches would 
be made to the company canals, and in place of the 
thin growth of gray-green desert vegetation with the 
ragged patches of dun earth would come great fields 
of luxuriant alfalfa, billowing acres of grain, with 
miles upon miles of orchards, vineyards and groves. 
The fierce desert life would give way to the herds 
and flocks and the home life of the farmer. The 
railroad would stretch its steel strength into this new 
world ; towns and cities would come to be where now 
was only solitude and desolation; and out from this 
world-old treasure house vast wealth would pour to 
enrich the peoples of the earth. The wealth of an 
empire lay in that land under the banker’s eye, and 
Capital held the key. 

But while the work of the engineers was simple, 
it would be a great work ; and it was the magnitude 
of the enterprise and the consequent requirement of 
large sums of money that gave Capital its oppor- 
tunity. Without water the desert was worthless. 
With water the productive possibilities of that great 
territory were enormous. Without Capital the water 
could not be had. Therefore Capital was master of 
the situation and, by controlling the water, could 
exact royal tribute from the wealth of the land. 

Knowing James Greenfield and his business 
associates as he knew them, familiar with their 
operations as he was and knowing that they repre- 
sented the power of almosi unlimited capital, Jeffer- 
son Worth realized that they would plan to share in 
every dollar of wealth that The King’s Basin lands 
could be made to produce. Already his trained mind 


154 


rTHE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


saw how easily, with the vast power in their hands, 
this could he brought about. And these men, recog= 
nizing his peculiar value in such an enterprise as this* 
wanted him to join them. 

It was a triumphant moment in the life and bush 
ness career of the western banker, the culmination 
of long, hard years of unceasing toil, of unfaltering 
devotion to business, of struggle and disappointments, 
of small victories and steady advance gained at the 
cost of sacrifice and hard fighting. This proposed 
alliance with the great eastern capitalists opened the 
door and invited him into the company of the real 
leaders of the financial world. As one of the power= 
ful corporation that would literally hold the life of 
the future King’s Basin in its hand, the multitudes 
of toilers who would come to reclaim the desert would 
be forced to toil not only for themselves but for hiim 
A part of every dollar of the millions that would be 
taken from that treasury by the labor of the people 
would go to enrich him. 

The financier’s thoughts were interrupted by a 
sound. He turned to see his horse tugging at the 
bridle reins, snorting in fear. The man started 
quickly down the hill, but before he could cover half 
the distance that separated him from his mount the 
frightened animal broke the reins and, wheeling 
about, disappeared down, the trail on a wild run. At 
the same instant a coyote trotted leisurely out from 
under the lee of the sand drift and, with a side glance 
over his shoulder at the banker, slipped around the 
point of the next low ridge. 

The man knew that to catch his horse wuld be 


155 


THE WINNING OE BARB AKA WORTH 


impossible. The animal would not stop until be 
reached bis companions at tbe feed-rack in camp. 
He knew also that to attempt to find bis way to 
headquarters such a distance and on foot, with night 
so near at band, would be worse than folly. He 
would only exhaust bis strength and make it harder 
for his friends to find him before his water, which 
could not last another day, should give out. Some- 
one, he knew, would take his trail in the morning. 
The only thing he could do was to wait — to wait 
alone in the heart of this silent, age-old, waiting 
land. 

Somewhere in those forgotten ages that went into 
the making of The King’s Basin Desert, a company 
of free-born citizens of the land, moved by that 
master passion — Good Business, found their way to 
the banks of the Colorado. In time Good Business 
led them to build their pueblos and to cultivate their 
fields by irrigation with water from the river and 
erect their rude altars to their now long-forgotten 
gods. Driven by the same passion that drove the 
Indians, the emigrant wagons moved toward the new 
gold country, and some financial genius saw Good 
Business at the river-crossing near the site of the 
ancient city. At first it was no more than a ferry, 
but soon others with eyes for profit established a 
trading point where the overland voyagers could 
replenish their stock of supplies, sure to be low after 
the hundreds of miles across the wide plains. Then 
also, in obedience to Good Business, pleasures heard 
the call, saloons, gambling houses and dance halls 
appeared, and for profit the joys of civilization 


156 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


arrived in the savage land. Good Business sent the 
prospectors who found the mines, the capital that 
developed them and the laborers who dug the ore. 
Good Business sent the cattle barons and their cow- 
boys, sent the speculators and the pioneer merchants. 
Good Business sent also, in the fulness of time, 
Jefferson Worth. 

Of old New England Puritan stock, Worth had 
some through the hard life of a poor farm boy with 
two dominant elements in his character: an almost 
super-human instinct for Good Business, inherited 
no doubt, and an instinct, also inherited, for religion. 
The instinct for trade, from much cultivation, had 
waxed strong and stronger* with the years. The 
religion that he had from his forefathers was become 
little more than a superstition. It was his genius 
for business that led him, in his young manhood, to 
leave the farm, and it was inevitable that from 
making money he should come to making money 
make more money. It was the other dominant ele~ 
ment in his character that kept him scrupulously 
honest, scrupulously moral. Besides this, honesty 
and morality were also “good business.” 

Seeking always larger opportunities for the em- 
ployment of his small, steadily-increasing financial 
strength, Mr. Worth established the Pioneer Bank. 
Later, as he had foreseen, the same master passion 
brought the great railroad with still larger oppor- 
tunities for his money to make more money. And 
now the same master passion that had driven the 
Indian, the emigrant, the miner, the cowman, the 
banker and the railroad was driving the eastern 

157 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


capitalists to spend their moneyed strength in the 
reclamation of The King’s Basin Desert. It was 
Good Business that led Greenfield and his friends 
to seek the co-operation of the western financier. It 
was Good Business that called to Jefferson Worth 
now as he saw the immense possibilities of the land. 

As truly as the ages had made the barren desert 
with its hard, thirsty life, the ages had produced 
Jefferson Worth, a carefully perfected, money mak- 
ing machine, as silent, hard and lonely as the desert 
itself. With apparently no vices, no passions, no 
mistakes, no failures, his only relation to his fellow- 
men was a business relation. With his almost 
supernatural ability to foresee, to measure, to weigh 
and judge, with his cold, mask-like face and his 
manner of considering carefully every word and of 
placing a value upon every trivial incident, he was 
respected, feared, trusted, even admired — and that 
was all. Ho; not all. By those who were forced^, 
through circumstances — business circumstances — to 
contribute to his prosperity and financial success, h© 
was hated. Such is the unreasonableness of human 
kind. 

Business, to this man as to many of his kind, wag 
not the mean, sordid grasping and hoarding of 
money. It was his profession, but it was even more 
than a profession ; it was the expression of his genius. 
Still more it was, through him, the expression of the 
age in which he lived, the expression of the master 
passion that in all ages had wrought in the making 
of the race. He looked upon a successful deal as a 
good surgeon looks upon a successful operation, a? 

158 


THE WIPING OF BARBARA WORTH 


an architect upon the completion of a building or an 
artist upon his finished picture. But to a greater 
degree than to artist or surgeon, the success of his 
work was measured by the accumulation of dollars. 
Apart from his work he valued the money received 
from his operations no more than the surgeon his 
fee, the artist his price. The work itself was his 
passion. Because dollars were the tools of his craft 
he was careful of them. The more he succeeded, the 
more power he gained for greater success. 

But extremely simple in his tastes, lacking, with 
his lack of education, knowledge of the more costly 
luxuries of life, with the habits of an ascetic, Jeffer- 
son Worth could not evidence his success; and suc- 
cess hidden and unknown loses its power to, reward. 
It is not enough for the engineer to run his locomo- 
tive; he must have train loads of goods and passen- 
gers to carry to some objective point. It is not 
enough for the captain to have command of his ship ; 
he must have a port Self to Jefferson Worth meant 
little; his nature demanded so little. ETor could 
Mrs. Worth in this 'fill the need in her husband’s 
life, for her nature was as simple as his own. But a 
child, whose life could be part of his life, filling out, 
supplementing and complementing his own nature; 
a, child who, dependent upon him, should have all the 
training that he lacked, who should share his success 
and for whom he could plan to succeed — a child, an 
heir, would fill the blank in his empty career. For a 
brief time he had looked forward to a child of his 
own blood. Then the death of the baby and the ill 
health of his wife had left him hopeless. He con- 

159 


THE WIMISG OF BAEBAEA WORTH 


tinned his work because be knew no life apart from 
his work. 

Then came the little girl so strangely the gift of 
the desert. The banker’s mind, trained to act quickly, 
bad grasped the possibilities of the situation in- 
stantly as be ran with bis companions to answer tbe 
call of that childish voice. From tbe moment when 
be knelt with outstretched bands and pleading words 
before little Barbara, be bad never ceased trying to 
win her. Mrs. Worth, knowing that she could not 
be with him many years, bad said : “You need her, 
Jeff,” and be did need her. 

But Jefferson Worth knew that Barbara was not 
bis. She shrank from him as instinctively and 
unconsciously as she bad drawn back that night of 
her mother’s death when be knelt before her in tbe 
desert. As she bad turned to tbe Seer then, she 
turned from the banker now. And now, far more 
than then, bis lonely heart hungered for her; for 
with tbe years bis need of her had grown. Envied 
of foolish men as men so foolishly envy bis class, tbe 
banker knew himself to be destitute, an object of 
their pity. The poorest Mexican in bis adobe but, 
with bis half-naked, laughing children, was more 
wealthy than be. 

Jefferson Worth, that afternoon on tbe very scene 
of tbe tragedy that bad given Barbara to him, 
realized that in the land before him be faced tbe 
greatest opportunity of bis business career. He 
realized also that be was as much alone in bis life 
as be was alone in tbe silent, barren waste that sur- 
rounded him. Would La Palma de la Mano de Dios^ 

160 


ITHE WimUBQ OF BARBARA WOE 


which had given him the child that was not his ehilu, 
give him wealth that still never could be his ? 

At last, from his place on the sand drift that held 
the secret of Barbara’s life, he saw the sun as it 
appeared to rest for a moment on the western wail 
before plunging down into the world on the other 
side. Watching, he saw the purple of the hills 
deepen and deepen and the wondrous light on the 
wide sea of colors fade slowly out as the colors them- 
selves paled and grew dim in the misty dusk of the 
coming night. Slowly the twilight sky grew dark, 
and into the velvet plain above came the heavenly 
flocks until their number was past counting save by 
Him who leadeth them in their fields. Against the 
last lingering light in the west that marked where 
the day had gone, the mountains lifted their vast 
bulk in solemn grandeur as if to bar forever the 
coming of another day. Closing about him on every 
hand, coming dreadfully nearer and nearer, the black 
rvalls of darkness shut him in. In the cool, mysterious 
breath of the desert, in the grotesque, fantastic, 
nearby shapes and monstrous forms of the sand 
dunes, in the mysterious phantom voices that whis- 
pered in the dark, Jefferson Worth felt the close 
approach of the spirit of the land ; the calling of the 
age-old, waiting land — the silent menace, the voice- 
Aess threat, the whispered promise. 

And there, alone — held close in The Hollow of 
God’s Hand as the long hours of the night passed — 
the spirit of the man’s Puritan fathers stirred within 
him. In the silent, naked heart of the Desert that, 
kuowing no hand but the hand of its Creator, seemed 

101 


E WIOTSTIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 

uO hold in its hushed mysteriousness the ages of r & 
past eternity, he felt his life to be but a little things 
Beside the awful forces that made themselves felt 
in the spirit of Barbara’s Desert, the might of 
Capital became small and trivial. Sensing the dread- 
ful power that had wrought to make that land, he 
shrank within himself — he was afraid. He marveled 
that he had dared dream of forcing La Palma de la 
Mano de Dios to contribute to his gains. And so at 
last it was given him to know why Barbara instinct- 
ively shrank from him in fear. 

With the coming of the day the banker went a 
little way back on the trail where the vegetation was 
not entirely covered by the drifting sand, and there 
gathered materials for a fire. Later, when he judged 
his friends would be in sight, he fired the pile and, 
watching the tall, thick column of smoke ascend, 
awaited the answer. In a little while it came, faint 
and far away, the report of Texas Joe’s forty-five. 
Soon he heard the sound of voices calling loudly and, 
following his answer, the swift hoof-beats of gallop- 
ing horses ; and Tex and Abe, leading another horsey 
appeared. 

But the Jefferson Worth who rode back to cams 
with his friends, there to be greeted and congratu- 
lated by the party, was not the same Jefferson Worth 
who had left camp the morning before, though no 
one congratulated him because of that. 

It was three weeks later when a portly, well-fed 
gentleman entered the Pioneer Bank in Rubio City 
and asked of the teller: “Is Mr. Worth in?” 


162 


THE WINNING OF BxiRBARA WORTH 


Tlie man on the other side of the counter looked 
through his grated window at the speaker with 
unusual interest. And in the teller’s voice there was 
a shade of unusual deference as he replied, “Yes, 
sir.’' 

“Tell him that Mr. Greenfield is here.” 

At the magic of that name every man in the hank 
within sound of the speaker’s voice lifted his head 
and turned toward the face at the window. 

“Yes, sir. Come this way, sir.” 

A door in the partition opened and the visitor was 
admitted to the sacred precincts behind the gratings, 
the bars and the plate glass. As he moved down the 
room past counters and desks, every eye followed 
him and there was an electrical hush in the atmos- 
phere like the hush that marks the massing of the 
forces in Nature before a conflict of the elements. 

Jefferson Worth looked up as the imposing figure 
of the great financier appeared on the threshold of 
his room, and at the name of J ames Greenfield care- 
fully pushed back the papers he had been considering 
and rose. The movement, slight as it was, was as 
though he cleared his decks for action. The clerk, 
withdrawing, carefully, closed the door. 

The two men shook hands with much the air of 
two wrestlers meeting for a bout. For a moment 
neither spoke. Each knew that in the silence he was 
being measured, estimated, searched for his weakness 
and his strength, and each gave to the other this 
opportunity as his right. No time was wasted in 
idle preliminaries. These men knew the value of 


163 


THE WIPING OF BARBARA WORTH 


time,, No formal words expressing pleasure at the 
meeting were spoken. They tacitly accepted the fact 
that pleasure had not called them together. 

James Greenfield was a fair representative of his 
slass. His full, well-colored face with carefully 
dipped gray mustache, bright blue eyes and gray 
hair, was the calmly alert, well-controlled, thoughtful 
face of power : not the face of one who does things, 
but of one who causes things to be done ; not the face 
of one who is himself powerful, but of one who con- 
trols and directs power; such a face as you may see 
leaning from the cab of a great locomotive that pulls 
the overland limited, or looking down at you from 
the bridge of the ocean liner. It was courageous, 
but with a courage not personal — a courage born 
rather of an exact knowledge of the strength and 
duty of every bolt, rivet and lever of the machine 
under his hand. It was confident, not in its own 
strength, but in the strength that it ruled and 
directed. 

Jefferson Worth motioned toward a chair at the 
end of his desk and seated himself. The man from 
the East found himself forced to make the opening. 

“Mr. Worth,” he said, “we find it very difficult 
to understand your attitude toward our company c 
We do not see why you decline ©ur proposition. Your 
own report gives every reason in the world why you 
should accept and you suggest no reason at all for 
declining. Frankly, it looks strange to us and I have 
oome out to have a little talk with you over the 
matter and to see if we could not persuade you to 
i^eeonsider your decision, or at least to learn your 

164 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


reasons for refusing to go in with us. Your report 
and your answer to our proposition are so conflicting 
that wo feel we have a right to some definite reason 
for your unexpected decision.” 

As he spoke, the president of The King’s Basin 
Land and Irrigation Company tried in vain to see 
behind the mask-like face of the man in the revolving 
chair. His failure only excited his admiration and 
respect. Instinctively he recognized the genius before 
him, and his desire to add this strength to his forces 
increased. 

“My report was satisfactory?” The words were 
absolutely colorless. 

“Very. It was exactly what we wanted. With 
your opinion, confirming our engineer’s statements, 
we felt safe to go ahead with the organization of the 
Company and have already set the wheels moving 
toward actual work. It is because you so unhesitat- 
ingly and so strongly commend the project as war- 
ranting our investment that we cannot understand 
your refusal to share the profits of our enterprise.” 

He paused for an answer, but was forced to con- 
tinue. “Let me explain more fully than I could 
outline in my letter just what we propose doing* 
The King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Company, 
Mr. Worth, will not confine its operations simply to 
furnishing water for the reclamation and develop- 
ment of these lands. That is no more than the begin- 
ning — the basis of our operations. With the settle- 
ment and improvement of the country will come 
many other openings for profitable investments — » 
townsites, transportation lines, telephones, electric 


165 


THE WIHHIHG OE BARBARA WORTH 


power, banking and all that, you understand. Our 
connections and resources make it possible for us to 
finance any industry or operation that promises 
attractive returns, while our position as the orig- 
inators of the whole King’s Basin movement and the 
owners of the irrigation system will give us tremen 
dous advantage over any outside capital that may 
attempt to oome in later, and will make competition 
practically impossible.” 

“I figured that was the way you would do it,” was 
the unemotional reply. 

More than ever J ames Greenfield wanted this man 
He considered carefully a few minutes, with no help 
from Jefferson Worth, then tried again. “If you 
feel that our proposition to you is not liberal enough, 
Mr. Worth, I am prepared to double our offer.” 

If the financier from Hew York thought to startle 
this little western banker with a proposal that was 
more than princely he failed. His words seemed to 
have no effect. It was as though he talked to a 
marble figure of a man. 

“I appreciate your proposition, but must decline 

it.” 

“May I ask your reason, sir ?” 

“I must decline to give any.” 

The other arose, the light of battle in his eyes, for 
to James Greenfield’s mind there could be only one 
possible meaning in the answer. “That is, of course, 
your privilege, Mr. Worth,” he said coldly. And 
then with the weight of conscious power he added: 
“But I’ll tell you this, sir: if you think you can 
enter The King’s Basin in opposition to our Conn 

166 


fTHE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


panv you’re making tlie mistake of your life, We’l! 
smash you, with your limited resources, so flat that 
you’ll be glad for a chance to make the price of a 
meal. Good day, sir!” 

“Good day.” 

Before the great capitalist was out of the building^ 
Jefferson Worth was bending over the papers on his 
desk again as though declining to accept flattering 
offers from gigantic corporations was an hourly 
occurrence. 


CHAPTER X 

BARBARA'S LOVE FOR THE SEER 

EFFERSOH WORTH had not proceeded far 
with the work before him after James Green 
field left when he was again interrupted 
This time it was the voice of Barbara in the othe" 
room. 

The banker lifted his head quickly. Again he 
pushed his papers from him, but now the movement 
seemed to indicate weariness and uncertainty rather 
than readiness for action. His head dropped for 
ward, his thin fingers nervously tapped the arms of 
his chair. When the girl’s step sounded at the door 
he looked up the fraction of a second before she 
appeared. 

“I don’t want to disturb you, father, but they told 
me that that big, fine-looking man just going out 
was Mr. Greenfield. Is he — did he come all the way 
from Hew York to see you ?” 

“He came in here to see me,” said Jefferson Worth 
exactly. 

“And the work V 9 

“He says they have already started the wheels to 
moving.” 

“And you, daddy; you?” 

Jefferson Worth arose and carefully closed the 
door. Then silently indicating the chair at the end 
af his desk he resumed his seat 



168 



THE WINDING OE BARBARA WORTH 


As Barbara looked into that mask-like face, the 
eager expectant light in her brown eyes died out and 
a look of questioning doubt came. She seemed to 
shrink back from him almost as she had turned away 
that first time in the desert. 

If Jefferson Worth felt that look his face gave no 
sign; only those thin, nervous fingers were lifted to 
caress his chin. 

“Are you — are you going to help, daddy? Will 
you join Mr. Greenfield’s company ?” 

Still the man was silent, and the girl, watching, 
wondered what was going on behind that gray mask, 
what questions were being weighed and considered. 

At last he spoke one cold word : “Why ?” 

Barbara flushed. “Because,” she answered, care- 
fully, “because it is such a great work. You could 
do so much more than simply make money.” 

“That is as you and the Seer see it” 

“But, father ; it is a great work, isn’t it, to change 
the desert into a land of farms and homes for thou- 
sands and thousands of people ?” 

“Do you think that Greenfield and his crowd are 
going into this scheme because it is a great thing for 
the people ?” 

“But don’t even capitalists sometimes undertake a 
great work just because it is great and because 
thousands upon thousands of people, through years 
and years to come, will be benefited even though the 
men themselves do not make so awfully much 
money ?” 

If Jefferson Worth felt her unconscious insinuation 
his face gave no sign. Carefully he listened with 


169 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


his manner of considering and weighing every word, 
while to Barbara his mind seemed to be reaching 
out on every side or running far into the futureo 
When he answered his words were carefully exact 
“Capitalists,, as individuals might and do, spend 
millions in projects from which they, personally, 
expect no returns. But Capital doesn’t do such 
things. Anything that Capital, as Capital, goes into 
must be purely a business proposition. If anything 
like sentiment entered into it that would be the end 
of the whole matter.” 

Barbara moved uneasily. “I don’t think I quite 
understand why,” she said. 

There was a shade of color now in the banker’s 
voice as he explained by asking : “How long do you 
think this bank could exist if we made loans to Tom, 
Dick and Harry because they needed help, or put 
money into this and that scheme simply because it 
was a beneficial thing ? How long would it be before 
we went to smash?” 

“But don’t business men ever do anything except 
to make money? Doesn’t Capital, as you say, ever 
consider the people ?” 

“This bank is a very substantial benefit to the 
people. But it can only benefit them by doing busi- 
ness on strictly business principles. As an individual 
any officer or stock holder can do what he pleases for 
whatever reason moves him. He can burn his money 
if he wants to. But as officers and directors of this 
corporation we can’t burn the capital of the institu- 
tion.” 

“But Mr. Greenfield and these New York men, 

170 


THE WINNING OF BAEBAEA WOETH 

who have organized the company — are they not carer 
£ul financiers?” 

“Very.” 

“It seems to me that they must believe in the Seer 
and his work or they wouldn’t furnish him the 
money, would they?” 

“They believe in the Seer and his work from their 
standpoint Their capital is invested for just one 
purpose — dividends.” 

Barbara sighed and moved impatiently, “You 
always make it so hard to believe in men, father* I 
can’t think that all business men — all financiers* I 
mean* — are so cold and heartless.” 

Again if Jefferson Worth felt the unconscious im- 
plication in her words he gave no sign. The banker 
was not ignorant of the public sentiment toward him- 
self and the men of his class in his profession. He 
had come to accept it with the indifference of his 
exact, machine-like habit. 

Barbara continued : “I feel sure that Mr. Green- 
field and the men with him are going to furnish the 
money for the Seer to do this work for more than 
just what they will make out of it* I know that 
Mr. Holmes does, and I had hoped that you” — her 
voice broke — “that you would ” 

If only Jefferson Worth could have broken the 
habit of a lifetime. If he could have laid aside that 
gray mask and permitted the girl to look into his 
hidden life, perhaps 

His colorless voice broke the silence, coldly exact s 
“What do you figure Willard Holmes is in this 
filing for V' f 


171 


the winning of Barbara worth 


Barbara’s face lighted up proudly. “He is in ths 
work for the same reason that the Seer and Abe are 
“—because it is such a great work and means so much 
to the world. I know, because since he returned he 
has talked to me so much about it. When he first 
came out — 'just at first — he didn’t understand what 
the work really was a But now he understands it as 
the Seer sees it.” 

“Did the Seer send him out here ?” 

“No, I believe Mr. Greenfield sent him.” 

“Why?” 

“I suppose they wanted an eastern man, whom 
they knew better than they knew the Seer, to repre- 
gent them ? It would be very natural, wouldn’t it ?” 

“Very natural,” agreed Jefferson Worth. 

“Have you given the Company your final answer, 
father ?” 

“Yes.” 

“And you — you won’t have anything to do with 
the reclamation of my Desert ?” 

“I declined to join the Company.” 

Blindly Barbara made her way out of the building. 
The place, with its air of business and suggestions 
of wealth, was unbearably hateful to her. At home 
she ordered her horse and started for the open 
country. But she did not ride toward the Desert, 
She felt that she could not bear the sight of The 
King’s Basin that day. 

In her father’s attitude toward the Company Bar- 
bara saw only his seeming desire for selfish gain. He 
had told her so often that only one thing could justify 
an investment of capital. Evidently he did not think 

172 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


The King’s Basin project would pay. She felt 
ashamed for him ; he seemed so incapable of consid 
ering anything but profit. Nothing but profit, the 
sure promise of gain, could move him. He believed 
in the work; he had reported in favor of it to the 
Company. He knew that the Company was going 
ahead. He was willing enough that others should do 
the work, she thought bitterly. They might take the 
risk. It was even likely that he had some way 
planned by which, without risking anything himself, 
he would reap large returns through their effortSo 
She thought proudly of the Seer, who had given so 
many unpaid years to the Reclamation work ; of Abe 
and his loyalty to the Seer; and of Willard Holmes, 
who was going to give himself to the work. 

Utterly sick at heart the girl did not meet her 
father at their evening meal. She could not. Jeffer- 
son Worth ate alone and alone spent the evening on 
the porch. On the way to his room he paused a 
moment at her door. He knocked softly so as not 
to waken her if she was asleep. When there was no 
answer he stole quietly away. But Barbara was not 
asleep. 

For three days Mr. Greenfield remained in Rubio 
City, “on the business of The King’s Basin Land 
and Irrigation Company,” the papers said in a long 
article setting forth the greatness of the work that 
was to be undertaken in the desert through the mag- 
nificent enterprise of these mighty eastern capitalists. 

During that time Barbara had not seen either the 
Seer, Holmes or Abe Lee. She understood that they 
were engaged with Mr. Greenfield. She read the 

173 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


glowing articles in the paper, the afternoon of Mr. 
Greenfield’s departure, with a thrill of pride. At 
last it had come — the day for which the Seer had 
hoped all these years. The dear old Seer! She was 
a little disappointed that the papers did not give his 
name more prominence. It seemed to be all Green- 
field and the Company,, But after all that did not 
matter. It was the Seer’s work ; the Seer had 
brought it about. 

The front gate clicked and Barbara looked up 
from her paper to see her old friend coming up the 
walk She saw at a glance that something was wrong. 
She thought he was ill. The big form of the engineei 
drooped with weakness, his head dropped forward, 
his eyes were fixed on the ground and he walked 
slowly, dragging his feet as with great weariness 
With a startled cry she ran to meet him, and as he 
saught her hands in both his own she saw his face 
drawn and haggard and his brown eyes filled with 
hopeless pain. He did not speak. 

Leading him to the shade of the porch she brought 
forward his favorite chair He sank into it as if 
overcome with exhaustion, but attempted to smile his 
thanks, 

“What is it ? Are you ill ? Let me call a doctor ?” 

“No, no, dear, I’m not sick. It’s not that, I’m— 
Fm upset a bit, that’s all* I’ll be all right in a little 
while. Only it was rather unexpected.” He turned 
his face away as though to hide something from her, 

“What is it? Can’t you tell me? What is the 
matter ?” Barbara had never seen the Seer so hope* 
less. 


174 


rTHE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“They have let me out ” 

She did not understand. “Let you out ?” 

He bowed his head slowly. “Yes; the Company* 
you know. They have appointed Mr. Holmes chief 
engineer in my place.” 

She cried out in indignant dismay. “But how 
eould they? It is your work — all your work! You 
have given years to bring it before the world. They 
never would have known of The King’s Basin at all 
but for you. How dare they ? They have no right !” 

The engineer smiled. “I was only an employe of 
Greenfield and the men who organized the Company* 
you know. In their eyes my relation to the work 
was the same as that of a Cocopah Indian laborer 
Of course it was understood in a general way that I 
was to have some stock in the Company when it wa* 
organized, with the chief engineer’s position at least 
but there was nothing settled. Nothing could be set 
tied until the actual completion of the survey, you 
know. I never dreamed of this. I can see now 
that it was planned from the first and that this is 
what Holmes came out here for. He is a great 
favorite of Greenfield’s, and I suppose they wanted 
a man of their own kind to look after their interestSo 
But it hurts, Barbara ; it hurts.” 

For an hour he stayed with her and she helped 
him as such a woman always helps. But when she 
would have kept him for supper he said: “No, I 
must find Abe. I want to tell the boy and have it 
over. You can tell your father.” 

When Jefferson Worth learned from his indignant 
daughter of the Company’s action he only said, in 

175 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


his precise way : “I figured that would be their first 
move.” There was no feeling in his voice or man 
ner. It was the simple verification of conclusions 
already reached and considered. 

“Father ! 77 cried Barbara. “Do you mean that you 
expected the Company to put that man Holmes in 
the Seer 7 s place ? 77 

“What reason was there to expect anything else ? 7 

“But you never said anything all the time the Seer 
was 77 She could not continue. It was madden- 

ing to think that while she had been dreaming and 
planning with the Seer, her father had foreseen that 
their dreams would come to nought. 

“If I had you would not have believed me . 77 The 
words were merely a calm, emotionless statement o^ 
fact. “I told you that the Company would act only 
from a business standpoint . 77 

Suddenly a new phase of the situation flashed 
upon Barbara. Controlling her emotions and search- 
ing her fathers face she asked: “Daddy, tell me 
please : was it because you saw this that you refused 
to join the Company ? 77 

Jefferson Worth considered; then with marked 
saution answered : “That was part of the reason . 77 

“I think I begin to understand a- little. I 7 m glad 
—glad that you would have nothing to do with those 
men. It would have killed me if you had had any 
part in this now . 77 

Presently the banker asked : “Have you seen Abe 
Lee ? 77 

“No ? why? Do you think — have they discharged 


176 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


Slim, too? He wouldn’t stay anyway after tfieia 
treatment of the Seer. I wouldn’t want him to.” 

“They won’t let him out if they can keep himo 
Holmes will need him,” said Worth. Then he addedU 
Y ou’d better tell Abe to stay.” 

Barbara gasped. “What do you mean ?” 

“Tell him to stay/’ repeated Worth slowly, ‘ 


CHAPTER XL 

ABE LEE RESIGNS 



JlNI obedience to its master passion— Good 
Business — the race now began pouring its 
life into the barren wastes of The King’s 
Basin Desert. 

In the city by the sea at the end of the South- 
western and Continental there was a suite of offices 
with real gold letters on the ground-glass doors richly 
spelling “The King’s Basin Land and Irrigation 
Company.” Behind these doors there was real ma- 
hogany furniture, solid, substantial and rich ; a high 
safe ; many attractive maps ; and a gentleman who — > 
never having traveled west of Buffalo before — could 
answer with authority every conceivable question 
relating to the reclamation of the arid lands of the 
great West. When there were no more questions to 
ask he could still tell you many things of the won- 
derland of wealth that was being opened to the public 
by the Company, demonstrating thus beyond the pos- 
sibility of a doubt how many times a dollar could be 
multiplied. 

Prom this office went forth to the advertising de- 
partments of the magazines and papers, skillfully 
prepared copy, which in turn was followed by pam- 
phlets, circulars and letters innumerable. In one 
room a company of clerks and book-keepers and 

178 



THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


accountants pored over their tasks at desks and coun- 
ters. In another a squad of stenographers filled the 
air with the sound of their type-writers. Through 
the doors of the different rooms passed an endless 
procession; men from the front with the marks of 
the desert sun on their faces — engineers* superin 
tendents, bosses, messengers, agents — servants of the 
Company; laborers of every sort and nationality 
came in answer to the cry: “Men wanted!”; special 
salesmen from foundry, factory and shop drawn by 
prospective large sales of machinery, implements and 
supplies; land-hungry men from everywhere seeking 
information and opportunity for investment 

At Deep Well (which is no well at all) on the 
rim of the Basin, trainloads of supplies, implements, 
machinery, lumber and construction material, horses, 
mules and men were daily side-tracked and unloaded 
on the desert sands. Overland travelers gazed m 
startled wonder at the scene of stirring activity that- 
burst so suddenly upon them in the midst of the 
barren land through which they had ridden for hours 
without sight of a human habitation or sign of man 
The great mountain of goods, piled on the dun plain ; 
the bands of horses and mules; the camp-fires; the 
blankets spread on the bare ground ; the men moving 
here and there in seemingly hopeless confusion; all 
looked so ridiculously out of place and so pitifully 
helpless. 

Every hour companies of men with teams and 
vehicles set out from the camp to be swallowed up in 
the silent distance. Night and day the huge moun- 
tain of goods was attacked by the freighters who, 

179 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


with their big wagons drawn by six, eight, twelve, or 
more, mules, appeared mysteriously out of the weird 
landscape as if they were spirits materialized by some 
mighty unknown genii of the desert. Their heavy 
wagons loaded, their water barrels filled, they turned 
again to the unseen realm from which they had been 
summoned. The sound of the loud voices of the driv- 
ers, the creaking of the wagons, the jingle of harness, 
the shot-like reports of long whips died quickly away ; 
while, to the vision, the outfits passed slowly — fading, 
dissolving in their great clouds of dust, into the land 
of mystery. 

In Rubio City Jefferson Worth continued on his 
machine-like way at the Pioneer Bank, apparently 
paying no heed to the movement that offered such 
opportunities for profitable investment, Barbara 
rarely spoke now of the work that had been so dear 
to her, nor did she ever ride to the foot of the hill 
on the Mesa to look over the Desert. The Seer was in 
the northern railroad work again, but Abe Lee, with 
Tex and Pat and Pablo Garcia, had gone with the 
beginning of the stream of life that was pouring 
into the new country. 

True to the far-reaching plans of the Como any, 
at the largest and most central of the supply camps, 
located in the very heart of The King’s Basin, the 
townsite of Kingston was laid out, and even in the 
days when every drop of water was hauled from 
three to ten miles town lots were offered for sale 
and sold to eager speculators. 

A year from the beginning of the work at the 
intake at the river, water was turned into the canals. 

180 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

With the coming of the water, Kingston changed, 
almost between suns, from a rude supply camp to an 
established town with post-office, stores, hotel, blact 
smith shop, livery stables, all in buildings more or 
less substantial. Most substantial of all was the 
building owned and occupied by the offices of the 
Company. 

With the coming of the water also, the stream of 
human life that flowed into the Basin was swollen 
by hundreds of settlers driven by the master passion 
— Good Business — to toil and traffic, to build the 
city, to subdue and cultivate the land and thus to 
realize the Seer’s dream, while the engineer himself 
was banished from the work to which he had given 
his life. Every sunrise saw new tent-houses spring- 
ing up on the claims of the settlers around the Com- 
pany town and new buildings beginning in the center 
of it all — Kingston. Every sunset saw miles of new 
ditches ready to receive the water from the canal and 
acres of new land cleared and graded for irrigation. 

Thus it was that afternoon when, from his office 
window, Mr. Burk, the General Manager of The 
King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Company, 
watched a freighter with a twelve-mule load of goods 
stop his team directly across the street in front of the 
largest and most important general store in the 
Basin. 

Deck Jordan, the merchant, came out and the 
Manager easily heard the driver’s loud voice : 
“Jim’ll be along in ’bout another hour, I reckon 0 
We aim to get the rest in two more trips.” 

“Six twelve-mule loads in that shipment,” thought 


181 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


the Company’s manager ; “and that fellow set up 
business with a two-horse load of stuff !” 

An empty wagon was driven up to the store and 
the General Manager recognized in the driver one of 
the Company’s men from a grading camp six miles 
away ; while another wagon — a Company wagon also 
— nearly filled with supplies moved away toward the 
open desert. 

Deck’s business was assuming quite respectable 
proportions thought Mr. Burk. And Deck’s business 
was mostly with employes of the Company. Taking 
a cigar from a box on his desk, Mr. Burk scratched a 
match on the heel of his shoe and, leaning back in 
his office chair, continued thinking. The Manager 
of The King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Company 
was paid to think. The Company hired Mr. Burk’s 
peculiar talent even as they hired the physical 
strength of their laborers or the professional skill of 
their engineers. 

As he meditated, the Manager still watched from 
the window the activities of the street. Soon from 
the open desert, beyond the last new building down 
the street, he saw a horseman approaching. At an 
easy swinging lope the rider came straight toward the 
Company’s headquarters and, as he drew near, the 
Manager recognized the chief engineer. Greeting the 
man at the open window as he passed, Willard 
Holmes dismounted at the entrance of the building 
and, going first to the water tank, soon appeared in 
the doorway of the Manager’s room. The engineer’s 
slothes from boots to Stetson were covered with dusi 


182 


the wihhihg of baebaea worth 


and His face was deeply bronzed by the months in the 
open air. 

Turning from the window Mr. Burk held out the 
box of cigars. 

“Ho thanks,” said the Chief with a smile. “I’m 
hot as a lime kiln now. Wait until after supper.” 

Throwing his hat and gloves on the floor, he 
dropped into a chair with a sigh of relief at the 
grateful coolness of the room after hours of riding in 
the dazzling light of the desert sun. 

The other, returning the box to its place, tipped 
back in his chair and elevated his well-dressed feet 
to his desk and, with his cigar in one corner of his 
mouth and his head cocked suggestively to one side, 
looked his companion over with a critical smile. “I 
say, Holmes, how would you like to be in little old 
Hew York this evening?” 

At the question and the manner of the speaker 
the engineer held up his hands with a motion of 
protest as he commanded, in tragic voice : “Get thee 
behind me, Satan!” Then, at the Manager’s laugh, 
he added seriously: “Hew York is all right, Burk, 
but I guess I can manage to stick it out here a while 
longer.” 

Burk looked at the engineer with the same thought- 
ful expression that had marked his face when he 
watched the wagon-load of supplies before the store 
across the street. “I have noticed that you show 
symptoms of slowly developing an interest in youi 
Job,” he murmured. “You were at the river yestei 
day.” 


183 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


“No; I was at Number Eive Heading. Abe Lee 
will be in from tbe intake this afternoon. I was 
there day before yesterday.” 

“How is the little old Colorado behaving herself ?” 

“All right so far. Our work is all a guess though. 
There is not a scrap of data to go on, you know.” 
There was a hint of anxiety in the chief engineer’s 
answer. 

“I suppose you find the talkative Abe cheerfully 
optimistic about the future of our structures as 
usual ?” 

Holmes did not smile at the jesting tone of the 
Manager. “Lee is certainly doing all he can to make 
things safe. He is a fiend for thoroughness, and 
between you and me, Burk, the Company ought to 
spend more money on that intake at least. A few 
more thousands would make it what it should be.” 

The man who was paid to think held out a hand 
protestingly. “My dear boy, how many times have 
we gone over that? The Company will spend just 
what they must spend to get this scheme going and 
not a cent more. Later, when the business justifies, 
they will improve the system. Don’t get yourself 
sidetracked by the notion that this whole project is 
for the benefit of the dear people and that the Com- 
pany is made up of benevolent old gentlemen, who 
have nothing to do with their wealth but promote 
philanthropic enterprises. You should know your 
Uncle Jim better. Dividends, my boy, dividends ; 
that’s what we’re all here for, and you can’t afford tc 
forget it. By the way, did you have any dinner 
today ?” 


184 


THE WIHHIHG OF BAKBARA WOKTH 


“I struck Camp Seven on the Alamitos at noon.” 

“Hum-m. Sour bread, sow-belly, frijoles? Or 
was it canned corn ? I say, old man, do you remem- 
ber some of the places where we used to dine at home 
— flowers and music, and table linen, and real dishes, 
and waiters with real food, and women — God bless 
’em ! — real women ? What would you give to-night, 
Holmes, for something to eat that had never been 
preserved, embalmed, cured, dried or tinned? It’s 
not a dream of fairyland, my boy; there are such 
places in the world and there are such things to eat. 
Come, what do you say? Where shall we dine to- 
night and what will you have ?” 

“You fiend!” growled Holmes. “You know I’d 
sell my soul this minute for one good red apple.” 

Lowering his feet to the floor and rising, the Man- 
ager of The King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Com- 
pany crossed the room stealthily and carefully closed 
the door. Then taking a bunch of keys from his 
pocket, with an air of great secrecy he unlocked a 
drawer in his desk, pulled it open and took out — an 
apple. 

The Company’s chief engineer fell on the Manager 
with an exclamation of amazement and delight. 

“Really,” said Burk as he watched the fruit disap- 
pear, “your child-like pleasure almost justifies my 
crime. I even feel repaid for my self-denial. There 
were only three in the basket.” 

“How did you do it ?” asked Holmes between bites, 
gazing at the apple in his hand as though to devour 
the treat with his eyes also, thereby doubling the 
pleasure. 


185 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“It was one of our dearly beloved prospective set- 
tlers,” the thoughtful Manager explained with an air 
of conscious merit. “He came in from somewhere 
yesterday to spy out the land and, being a prudent 
and thrifty farmer, he possesses, or is possessed by, a 
prudent and thrifty wife. Said wife fitted out said 
farmer for his journey into this far country with a 
market basket of provisions. Home-made provisions, 
Willard, my son; home made! A whole basket full! 
He had one feed left and was finishing it out there 
on the sidewalk when 1 returned from what we of 
this benighted land call dinner. How could I help 
looking. I watched him devour the leg of a chicken. 
I watched him eat real bread with jelly on it. Then 
I caught sight of three apples — three! Holmes, such 
wealth is criminal. I considered — I became an 
anarchist. He was a big husky and I dared not 
assault him, so I talked — Lord forgive me! — how 
I talked. I offered confidential advice, I conjured 
up visions of wealth untold. I laid him under a 
spell and gently led him and his basket into the office 
even as he finished the pie. I showed him maps; I 
gave him a cigar ; I urged him to leave his basket and 
satchel here in my private office for safe-keeping 
while he looked around. Gladly he accepted my 
invitation. His confidence was pathetic. How 
could the poor, trusting farmer know that I was 
ready, if necessary, to murder him for his fortune ? 
When he had gone I locked the door and I — I — 
I only took two, Holmes ; I dared not take them all, 
for he was big and rough, as I say. But I could not 


186 


THE WHSTHIHG OF BAKBAKA WOBTH 


believe that a man with such wealth could miss a 
part of it.” 

“But you said you ate two,” said the engineer 
severely, taking another long, lingering bite. 

“I did,” returned the Manager, with awful solem= 
nity. “When that trusting but husky farmer re- 
turned later for his possessions he thanked me many 
times for my kindness while I trembled with the 
consciousness of my guilt, assuring him that it was 
no trouble at all — no trouble at all. And then — just 
as I felt sure that he was going and was beginning 
to breathe easier — he stopped and fumbled around in 
his basket. My heart stood still. ‘Hannah put some 
fine apples in my dinner,’ he muttered. ‘I thought 
maybe you might like some. Beckon I must a-et 
? em after all. I thought there was — no, by jocks! 
here she is.’ Holmes, as I live he handed me that 
other apple. It was positively uncanny. I was 
speechless. Hot until he was gone did I realize that 
it was prophetic. In like manner shall the settlers? 
the farmers, save this land and us from destruction.” 

“It’s Good Business,” returned Holmes. “It 
exactly illustrates your methods of dealing with the 
confiding public.” 

“Humph !” grunted the other. “I observe that you 
do not hesitate to enjoy the fruits of my financier^ 
kg.” 

A knock at the door prevented the engineer’s reply, 

“Come in !” called Burk. 

The door opened and Abe Lee stood on the thresh 
idcL The two men greeted the ' surveyor cordially 


187 


THE WIKNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


but with that subtle touch in their voices that hinted 
at consciousness of superior position and authority. 

Abe addressed himself directly to his Chief, say- 
ing: “We finished at the intake last night, sir, and 
moved to Dry River Heading this morning as you 
directed.” 

“You left everything at the river in good shape, 
of course?” 

The surveyor did not answer. The tobacco and 
paper that, in his long fingers, were assuming the 
form of a cigarette seemed to demand his undivided 
attention. Burk was thoughtfully watching the two 
men. At the critical moment he handed Abe a match. 
From the cloud of smoke Abe spoke again. “The 
outfit will be ready to begin work at the Heading 
to-morrow morning.” 

Before Holmes could speak the Manager said: 
“You evidently still think, Lee, that the work at the 
river is not satisfactory. Are you still predicting 
that our intake will go out with the next high water ?” 

“I don’t know whether the next high water will 
do it or not. The Rio Colorado alone won’t hurt us, 
but when the Gila and the Little Colorado go on the 
war-path and come down on top of a high Colorado 
fiood you’ll catch hell. It may be this season ; it may 
be next. It depends on the snowfall in the upper 
countries and the weather in the spring, but it has 
come and it will come again.” 

“How do you know ? There have been no records 
kept and no surveys. We have no data.” 

“There’s data enough. The Colorado leaves her 
own record. I know the country; I know what the 

188 


THE WISHING OF BARBARA WORTH 


river has done and I know what the Indians have 
told me." 

At the surveyor’s words his Chief stirred impa= 
tiently and the Manager answered: “But we can’t 
spend twenty or thirty thousand dollars on a mere 
guess at what may happen, Lee. When the country 
is fairly well settled and business justifies, we will 
put in a new intake. In the meantime those struc- 
tures will have to do. The K. B. L. and I. is not 
in business for glory, you know." 

Abe spoke softly from a cloud of smoke. “And 
are you explaining this situation to the people who 
are coming here by the hundreds to settle ? Do they 
understand the chances they are taking when they 
buy water rights and go ahead to develop their 
ranches ?" 

“Certainly not. If we talked risks no one would 
come in. The Company must protect its interests." 

“Who protects the settlers’ interests ?’’ 

The Manager stiffened. “I don’t recognize your 
right to criticise the Company’s policy, Lee. Mr, 
Holmes is our chief engineer and he assures me that 
our structures are as good as they can be made with 
the money at our disposal. We can only carry out 
the policies of the Company and we are responsible 
to them for the money we spend. You have no 
responsibility in the matter whatever." 

“Oh, hell, Burk," drawled Abe, though his eyes 
contradicted flatly his soft tone. “There’s no occa- 
sion for you to climb so high up that ladder. You’ve 
been a corporation mouthpiece so long you have no 
more soul than the Company." He turned to his 


189 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


Chief. “I left Andy in charge at camp. He under- 
stands that I will not be back. I dropped my resigna- 
tion in your box in the office as I came in. Adios.” 

Leaving the office, Abe walked slowly down the 
street through the heart of the Company’s little town. 
On every hand he saw the work that was being 
wrought in the Desert. There were business blocks 
and houses in every stage of building from the new- 
laid foundation to the moving-in of the tenants. The 
air rang with sound of hammer and saw. Teams and 
wagons from the ranches lined the street. The very 
faces of the people he met glowed with enthusiasm, 
while determination and purpose were expressed in 
their very movements as they hurried by. 

A mile west of town the surveyor stopped on the 
bridge that spanned the main canal. He paused to 
look around. He saw the country already dotted with 
the white tent-houses of the settlers, and even as he 
looked three new wagons, loaded with supplies and 
implements, passed, bound for the claims of the 
owners. Under his feet the water from the distant 
river ran strongly. To the west was a grading camp 
on the line of a Company ditch; to the south was 
another. Far to the north and east, along the rim 
of the Basin, he knew the railroad was bringing other 
pioneers by the hundreds. He drew a deep breath 
and, taking off his sombrero, drank in the scene. 
How he loved it all! It was the Seer’s dream, but 
the Seer could have no part in it. It was Barbara’s 
Desert, but Barbara was shut out — exiled. It was 
Ms work, but he was powerless to do it. The Seer 


190 


THE WIjSTNIHG OE BARBARA WORTH 


had told him to stay for his work’s sake. He smiled 
grimly, remembering the Manager’s words. Barbara 
had told him to stay, but the girl knew nothing of 
conditions — how could she know? Jefferson Worth 
had told him to stay. Why ? Barbara, in her letters^ 
never spoke of the work. The Seer seldom wrote; 
Jefferson Worth, never. Every month the situation 
had grown more unbearable. Burk might insist that 
he had no responsibility and Holmes might argue 
that they could only do their best with what funds 
the Company would supply. Abe was not of their 
school. Well, he was out of it now for good. He 
was not the kind of a man the Company wanted. 

Returning to town he had supper at the little 
shack restaurant and, going to the tent house owned 
by himself and two brother-surveyors that they might 
have a place to sleep when in town, he gathered his 
few possessions together in readiness for departure 
in the morning. 

When the brief task was finished and he had writ 
ten a note to his two friends, who were away, he went 
out again on the main street, because there was noth- 
ing else to do. It was evening now and the usual crowd 
was gathered in front of the post-office to watch the 
arrival of the stage, the one event of never-failing 
interest to these hardy pioneers. In the throng there 
were teamsters, laborers, ranchers, mechanics, real 
estate agents, speculators, surveyors — gathered from 
camp and field and town. Some were expecting 
letters from the home folks in the world outside; a 
few were looking for friends among the passengers 


191 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


Many were there, as was Abe, because it was the 
point of interest. All were roughly clad, marked by 
the semi-tropical desert wind and sun. 

It was among such men as these that Abe Lee’s 
life had been spent. Such scenes as these were home 
scenes to him. In a peculiar way, through the Seer 
and Barbara, the work that these men were doing 
was dear to him. He felt that he was being cast out 
of his own place. As he passed through the throng 
Abe heard always the same topic of conversation : the 
work — the work — the work. Hews to these men 
meant more miles of canal finished, new ditches dug, 
more land leveled and graded, new settlers located. 
The surveyor thought of the future of these people, 
given wholly into the hands of the Company; of 
the men in the East, who knew nothing of their 
hardships but who would force them to pay royal 
tribute out of the fruits of their toil; of how, even 
then, they were increasing the value of the Company 
property. 

“Here she comes!” cried someone, and all eyes 
were turned to see the stage swinging down the 
street. Abe drew back a little — to the thin edge of 
the crowd ; he was expecting neither letters nor 
friends. The six broncos were brought to a stand 
in the midst of the crowd, the mail bag was tossed 
to the post-master and the passengers began climbing 
down from their seats. 

As the last man rose from his place he stood for 
a moment in a stooped position, gripping with each 
hand one of the standards that supported the canvas 
top of the vehicle. Looking out thus over the crowd 


192 


THE WINDING OF BARBAKA WORTH 


he seemed to be gathering data for an estimate oi 
the population before he felt cautiously with his foot 
for the step. 

Abe Lee started forward with an exclamation 
It was Jefferson Worth! 


CHAPTER XII 
SIGNS OF CONFLICT, 


OT a line of Jefferson Worth’s countenance 
changed as the tall surveyor, pushing his 
way through the crowd about the new 
arrivals, greeted him. But Abe Lee felt the man 
from behind his gray mask reaching out to grasp 
his innermost thoughts and emotions. 

“Where is the hotel?” 

Abe explained that the rough board shelter that 
bore that name was full to the door. People were 
even sleeping on the floor. “But there is room in 
our tent, Mr. Worth,” he finished and led the way 
out of the crowd. 

To the surveyor’s eager questions the banker 
answered that Barbara was visiting friends in the 
Coast city. 

When they had reached the tent and Abe had 
found and lighted a lantern, Mr. Worth said — and 
his manner was as though he were continuing a corn 
versation that had been interrupted only for a 
moment — “well, I see you stayed.” 

At his words the surveyor, who was filling a tin 
wash-bas : u with fresh water that his guest might 
wash away the dust of his journey, felt the hot blood 
in his cheeks. Before answering he pulled an old 
cracker-box from under a cot in one comer of the 



194 



THE WIKNTNG OF BARBABA WORTH 


canvas room and, rummaging therein, brought to 
light a clean towel. When he had placed this evi- 
dence of civilization beside the basin on the box that 
did duty as a wash-stand, he answered : “I quit the 
Company this afternoon.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I won’t do the kind of work the Com- 
pany wants.” The surveyor spoke hotly now. The 
man busy with the basin of water made no comment, 
and Abe continued: “Mr. Worth, they are putting 
in the cheapest possible kind of wooden structures 
all through the system, even at points where the 
safety of the whole project depends on the control 
of the water. The intake itself is nothing but the 
flimsiest sort of a makeshift. One good flood, such 
as we have every few years, and there wouldn’t be a 
damned stick of it left in twelve hours. You remem- 
ber what the grade is from the river at the point of 
the intake this way into the Basin and you know 
how water cuts this soil. If that gate goes out the 
whole river will come through; and these settlers, 
who are tumbling over each other to put into this 
country every cent they have in the world, will lose 
everything.” 

“The Company takes its chances with the settlers, 
doesn’t it?” 

“The Company takes mighty small chances com- 
pared to the risk the settlers are carrying. As a 
matter of fact, Mr. Worth, it is the people who are 
building this system; not the Company at all. To 
prove up on these desert claims the government com- 
pels them to have the water. They can’t use the 

195 


THE WTKNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


water without paying the Company for the right. 
After they have bought the water rights then they 
must pay for every acre-foot they use. All Green* 
field and his bunch did was to put up enough to start 
the thing going and the people are doing the rest 
The Company knows the risk and stakes a com- 
partively small amount of capital. The settlers 
know nothing of the real conditions and stake every- 
thing they have in the world. If the Company would 
tell the people the situation it would be square, but 
you know what would happen if they did that. Ho 
one would come in. As it is, the Company, by risk* 
ing the smallest amount possible, leads the people to 
risk everything they have and yet the Greenfield crowd 
stands to win big on the whole stake.” 

Mr. Worth was drying his slim fingers with careful 
precision. “I figured that was the way it would be 
done. That’s the way all these big enterprises are 
launched. The first work is always done on a pro- 
moter’s estimate. Later, when the business justifies, 
the system will be strengthened and improved.” 

“Which means,” retorted the surveyor, “that when 
the Company has taken enough money from the set- 
tlers, whom they have induced to stake everything 
they have on the gamble by letting them think it is 
a sure thing, they will use a part of it to give the 
people what they think they are getting now.” 

The banker laid the towel carefully aside and dis- 
posed of the water in the wash-basin by the primitive 
method of throwing it from the tent door. Then he 
spoke again : “The people themselves could never 
start a work like this, and if there wasn’t a chance 
196 


SHE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


to make a big thing Capital wouldn’t. It’s the size 
of the profit compared with the amount invested that 
draws Capital into this kind of a thing. If ti e Com- 
pany had to take all the chance in this project they 
would simply stay out and the work would never be 
done. This feature of unequal risk is the very thing, 
and the only thing, that could attract the money to 
start this proposition going; and that’s what people 
like you and the Seer and Barbara can’t see. Holmes 
and Burk can’t help themselves. It’s Greenfield and 
the Company, and they are just as honest as other 
men. They are simply promoting this scheme m the 
only way possible to start it and the people will share 
the results.” 

“Holmes and Burk are all right, except that 
they’re owned body and soul by the Company,” said 
Abe quickly. “But Greenfield and the men who 
engineered this thing look to me like a bunch of 
green-goods men who live on the confidence of the 
people.” 

“The people will gain their farms just the same,” 
returned the financier. “They wouldn’t have any- 
thing without the Company.” 

The surveyor shrugged his shoulders. “Well, you 
may be right, Mr. Worth; but I’ve had all I can 
stand of it.” 

Again Jefferson Worth looked full into the 
younger man’s eyes and Abe felt that Something 
behind the mask reaching out to seize the thoughts 
and motives that lay back of his words : “What are 
^rou going to do ?” 

“I don’t know* Punch steers or get a job in © 

197 


THE WIHNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


mine somewhere, I reckon. Fm going somewhere 
out of this. I’ve had enough of promoter’s esti- 
mates.” 

“ Suppose you stay and work for me.” 

Abe Lee sprang to his feet. “Work for you? 
Here? I thought you had refused to go into this 
deal ?” 

“I declined to join Greenfield’s Company,” said 
the banker exactly* 

“Do you mean, Mr. Worth, that you are going to 
operate in the Basin independently, knowing the 
Company’s strength and the whole situation as you 
do?” 

“I have decided to take a chance with the rest,” 
was the unemotional answer. “I sold out of the bank 
and cleaned up everything in Rubio City last week.” 

“But what are you going into here ?” 

“I can use you if you want to stay,” came the 
cautious answer. 

“Stay ? Of course I’ll stay !” 

It was characteristic of these men that nothing was 
said of salary on either side. Extinguishing the 
lantern, Abe led the way out into the night. The 
darkness was intense and unrelieved save by the thin 
broken line of twinkling lights from the windows of 
the buildings, which gave them the direction of the 
main street, and the few dull glowing tent houses, 
whose tenants were at home. Overhead the desert 
stars shone with a brilliance that put to shame the 
feeble efforts of the earth-men, while about the little 
pioneer town the desert night drew close with its 
circling wall of mystery. 


198 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Did Jefferson Worth think, as he stumbled along 
by the surveyor’s side, of that other night in The 
Hollow of God’s Hand, when he had faced, alone, the 
spirit of the land ? 

“This town needs an electric lighting system,” he 
said in his colorless voice. 

W T hen Jefferson Worth had finished supper in the 
shack restaurant he proposed cautiously that they 
look around a little. The street was lined with teams 
and saddle horses, their forms shadowy and indis- 
tinct in the dark places of vacant lots or where 
buildings were under construction, but standing forth 
with startling clearness where the light from a store 
streamed forth. The sidewalk was filled with men 
from the ranches and grading camps, who had come 
to town after sunset for their mail or supplies so 
that no hour of the day should be lost to the work 
that had called them into the desert; and these ever- 
shifting figures passed to and fro through the bands 
of light and darkness, gathered in groups in front of 
the stores and dissolved again, to form other groups 
or to lose themselves in the general throng. Every 
moment a wagon-load of men, a party of horsemen, 
or a single rider would appear suddenly and mys- 
teriously out of the night, while others, leaving the 
throng to depart in like manner, would be swallowed 
up as mysteriously by the blackness. In the center 
of the picture and the very heart of the activity was 
the general store opposite the office of The King’s 
Basin Land and Irrigation Company. 

Deck Jordan had opened his store in the days 
when Kingston was still a supply camp. No one 

199 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


knew much about Deck or how he had guessed thw'i 
the camp would become the chief town in the new 
country. He was a pleasing, capable, but close- 
mouthed man, who knew what to buy, paid his bills 
promptly and — with one exception — conducted his 
business on a cash basis. 

The exception to the cash rule was in favor of the 
Company’s employes. It was on Deck’s initiative 
that an arrangement was made with Mr. Burk by 
which the Company men received credit at the store, 
the amount of their bills being deducted from their 
wages each month by the Company paymaster. It 
was this plan that, by giving Deck practically all of 
the trade from the hundreds of Company employes, 
had increased his business so rapidly. To the 
thoughtful Manager, also, the plan seemed good. He 
foresaw how, with the Company thus controlling the 
bulk of the merchant’s business, he could, when the 
proper time came, “persuade” Deck to enter into a 
still “closer” arrangement — thus carrying out the 
Good Business policy of the Company. That very 
afternoon Mr. Burk had decided the time had come 
and had so written Mr. Greenfield. 

Leisurely Jefferson Worth and his companion 
worked their way through the crowd and into the 
store where Deck and his helpers were toiling to 
supply the various needs of a small army of cus- 
tomers. Erom the open doors and from the big 
implement shed in the rear of the building, a steady 
stream of provisions, clothing, dry goods, hardware*, 
blankets, harness and tools flowed forth. 

In the midst of the confusion Deck himself was 


200 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


holding an animated conversation with a would-be 
purchaser. “I’d be mighty glad to accommodate 
you, Sam, if I could, but you know we’re running 
this store on a cash basis and I can’t break my rules 0 
If I begin with you I’ll have to do it for everybody 
and I can’t.” 

“You don’t make these Company men pay cask 
Anybody — Injuns, greasers or anything else — gets 
what he Xvants and no questions asked if he works 
for the Company.” 

“But that’s different, you see,” explained Deck 
“We have an arrangement with the Company by 
which they hold out from each man’s pay the amount 
of my bills against him.” 

“I understand that, but you’ll find out that it’s the 
rancher’s trade that’ll keep you going. We’ll be here 
long after these ditchers an’ mule skinners have left 
the country and we’ll have money to spend. You’ll 
find, too, that when things do begin to come our way 
we’ll stand by the store that’ll stand by us now when 
we’ve got everything goin’ out an’ nothin’ cornin’ in.” 

Deck, over the shoulder of the rancher, saw J effer- 
son Worth and the surveyor, who with several others 
had drawn near, attracted by the loud tones of the 
farmer. Abe thought that he caught a look of recog= 
nition as Deck’s eyes fell on his companion but the 
banker gave no sign. 

The merchant, answering his customer, said: “I 
know you are right about that part of it, Sam, and 
I’d like to back every rancher in this Basin if J 
3ould. But I can’t.” 

“Why not ? Ain’t you runnin’ this store ?” 

201 


V 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Before Deck could reply, to Abe’s astonishment 
the quiet voice of Jefferson Worth broke in. “You 
are improving a ranch of your own near here ?” 

The settler turned sharply. “You bet I am, Mister ; 
leastwise, I’m tryin’ to, and if workin’ from sun-up 
’til dark an’ livin’ on nothin’ ’til I can make a 
crop will pull me through I’ll make it.” 

“I suppose the heaviest expense is all in getting 
started?” asked Mr. Worth, as if seeking to verify 
an observation. 

“It sure is,” replied the pioneer. “There’s the 
outfit you’ve got to have — work-stock an’ tools ; 
you’ve got to build your ditches and grade your land ; 
and you’ve got to buy water rights and pay for your 
ater ; and you’ve got to make your payments to the 
government. Then there’s feed for your work-stock 
and yourself, an’ there ain’t nothin’ to bring in a 
cent ’til you can make a crop. The farmers that are 
cornin’ into this country ain’t got a great big pile of 
ready money stacked away, Mister, an’ they’re 
mighty apt to run a little short the first year. When 
our home merchants, who expect to make their money 
-off from us, won’t even trust us for a few dollars’ 
worth of provisions ’til we can get a start, I’m 
damned if it ain’t tough.” 

“But everyone is a stranger in this new country,” 
said Mr. Worth. “How can a merchant know whether 
a man will pay or not ? I suppose there are ranchers 
coming in here who would beat a bill if they could. 
The merchants have to pay for their goods or close 
up.” 


209 


SHE WINNING OB BARBARA WORTH 


“I reckon that’s all so,” returned the other. “AmS 
rf course everybody knows that there never was sucSsi 
■ft thing as dishonest store-keepers. Merchants don’t 
^ever bear anybody with short weight and all that V* 
This raised a laugh in which Deck joined as 
heartily as anyone. Even the banker smiled ooldlj; 
m he asked : “What did you say your name was P 
“Didn’t say ; but it’s Sam Warren,” 

“Where is your ranch ?” 

“Six miles north on the Number One maim” 
“Well, Mr. Warren, I’ve been considering this 
proposition and I’ve got it figured out like this. W® 
all want to make what we can in this new country $ 
that’s what we came in for. This store can’t gel 
along without the ranchers’ support and you ranchers' 
can’t get along without the store. We’ve all got to 
pull together and help each other, I don’t believe 
that many of the men who come into this Desert to 
actually settle on and improve the land are the kind 
of men who beat their bills. I figured to run on a 
sash basis only until things got started and sort of 
settled down, you see. I know that you people need 
credit until you get on your feet. From now on you 
come here — for whatever you actually need, yon 
understand — and we’ll carry you for any reasonable 
amount until you get something coming im All we 
ask in return is that you ranchers do as you say and 
stand by us when you do get on top/’ 

At Jefferson Worth’s simple and quietly spokes-! 
words a hush fell over the group of mem Abe Le® 
looked at his companion in amazement, Sam Warresa 


203 


OTE fHIHG OF BARBARA' WORM 


(toned from the stranger to the store-keeper and bad 
<ki the stranger,, The man behind the counter wm 
(Smiling broadly as if enjoying the situation. 

When no one could find a word with which ta 
break the silence* Deck Jordan said * “Gentlemen 
this is Mr, Jefferson Worth, the owner of this store 
George F he called to a passing clerk* ‘“give Sam 
whatever he wants as soon as you can get around to it. 
End charge it” 

At this such a yell went up from the bystanders 
that a crowd from the outside rushed in s and as the 
word passed and others voiced their approval as 
loudly* the Manager of The King > s Basm Land and; 
Irrigation Company in his rooms across the street 
thought that another fight was gel 
HTtas Manager was not far wrong in Ms 


204 


CHAPTER XIII. 

BARBARA'S CALL TO HER FRIENDS, 

HAT night, long after Kingston was still and 
the Manager of The King’s Basin Land and 
Irrigation Company was fast asleep, Jeffer- 
son Worth and Abe Lee talked in the little tent that, 
from the lantern within, glowed in the darkness, 
seemingly the one spot of light under the desert stars* 
The next morning the surveyor left town on the 
stage, but not as he had planned. Abe knew now 
where he was going and what he was going to do- 
He was bound for the city by the sea and he carried 
in his pocket several letters of introduction, written 
by his employer and addressed to different firms 
engaged in manufacturing and selling things eleo 
trical. And more than this, Abe would see Barbara 
Jefferson Worth did not breakfast with Abe that 
morning nor did he see him off on the stage, but a 
few minutes after the surveyor had left town hie 
employer passed down the street in the direction of 
the store. 

As Mr. Worth drew near his place of business he 
saw, posed just without the door, one whom the most 
casual of observing strangers would have supposed 
instantly to be the proprietor of the store, the owner 
of the building — if not, indeed, the proprietor and 
owner of all Kingston and many miles of country 
sound about 



205 


THE WIKNTFG OE BARBARA WORTH 


The portly figure, clad in a ousiness suit of gray, 
with a vast, full-rounded expanse of white vest^ 
expressed in every curve opulent wealth and lordly 
generosity. The clean-shaven face, fat and florid, 
beamed lUipon the world from above the clerical 
severity of a black tie with truly paternal benev- 
olence; while the massive head was not in reality 
crowned but was covered by a hat such as command* 
mg generals always wear in pictures. The pose of 
the figure, the lift of the countenance, the kingly 
mien of eye and brow made it impossible to mistake 
bis majesty. In comparison with this august per 
sonage, the figure and air of Jefierson Worth were 
pitifully inadequate. 

The great one welcomed the financier at the latter’s 
own door with an air of royal hospitality. Extend- 
ing his hand as if he stepped down only one step 
from his throne and speaking in a tone that was 
meant to confer marked distinction upon the humble 
recipient of his favor, he said: “Mr. Worth, I am 
delighted, more delighted than I can express, to 
welcome you to our city. It is a great day for this 
country — a great day!” He wrung the financier’s 
timid hand with two hundred and fifty pounds of 
©motional energy c “Mr. Greenfield and I, with our 
friends and associates in the East, and Mr. Burk 
and Holmes here in the field, are doing what we can 
for these people, but there is a great work here yet 
for men like you — men of some means and financial 
ability, who will get behind the smaller business 
interests and build them up on a solid foundation. 
My heart rejoiced for the country, sir, when I hearc 


206 


KHE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


t&is morning that you had purchased this establish- 
ment. Deck is a good honest fellow, you know ? 
but 99 An expansive smile of confidential under- 

standing finished this sentence, and the words — “My 
name is Blanton, Mr* Worth — Horace P. Blanton 99 — 
seemed to settle r once any doubt as to the position 
■End authority of the speaker. 

Jefferson Worth did not explain that he had owned 
ithe store from the beginning and that Deck Jordan* 
vas no more than his very capable agent* Indeed 
Mr. Worth said nothing at al He even appeared 
So shrink with becoming modesty though there was 
the faintest hint of a twinkle in the corners of his 
ayes — a hint so faint that Horace P. Blanton, from 
his great height, overlooked it. 

The big man, in a lower tone of confidential 
familiarity, asked. “H ve you heard from Greens 
field lately?" 

“No . 99 

“I wrote Jim some time ago that he would have 
to come out here himself. There are some conditions 
developing here that should have his personal atten- 
tion, and Pll be blessed if I’ll stand seeing him 
aeglect them! I 9 m a western man myself, Worthy 
■md you know we do things in this country." 

“You are interested in The King’s Basin Com- 
pany ? 99 

The answer was given in a tone of tolerant surprise 
that any one should think he would toy with a thing 

such trifling importance. “Me ? Oh no !— that is* 
mot directly you understand. But I am deeply inter 
asted in the development of the country* Let zm 

207 


the wiknthg of Barbara worth 


elbow you a little of what we are doing here. It's 
amazing how the world outside fails utterly to grasp 
the magnitude of the enterprise. Even the news 
papers are criminally negligent. Quite recently I had 
(occasion to tell my good friend, the editor of the 
Times, that if he didn’t give us something like a fail 
showing I would see to it personally that the bulk 
of our business went to San Felipe. It’s a burning 
shame the way they have persistent! ) ignored us.” 

Mr. Worth made an ineffectual attempt to escape 
hut the white vest blocked his move. Pointing to t 
half-finished building on the nearest corner, the great 
one explained in the tone of a personal conductor 
"'That is our new hotel — one of the finest buildings 
in the southwest. The young man who will run it 
for us is personally superintending the construction. 
Bright boy, too. You must Jet me introduce you tc 
Ihim.” 

Jefferson Worth, gazing at the modest building 
mnder construction, murmured : “You are interested, 
grou say?” 

“Oh no ; that is — only in a way, you understand, 
I have a hand in most of these enterprises.” 

“This town needs a good hotel,” said Mr. Worth, 
mildly. 

“That building farther down — the one where the 
foundation is just completed — is our Opera House, 
It is being erected by one of the big Coast syndicates 
and will be a magnificent hall of amusement and 
entertainment as well as a place for public gatherings 
of all kinds. I have been in close personal touch 
with the men in charge of the enterprise and thej 

208 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


(understand that we will tolerate nothing that is n©$ 
first class.” 

“The people need such a building,” was the quiet 
comment. 

“In the block opposite our bank will be locatedo 
They will be working on the vault in another two 
weeks. While the building is well under way, as you 
see, the organization of the institution is not yet 
made public. Only a few of us on the inside, you 
understand, know who is back of the enterprise.” 

“I see,” said Jefferson Worth. “A bank is a good 
thing for the country.” 

Pointing up the street, the great one in the white 
vest continued: “There you see the office of our 
paper — The King’s Basin Messenger. The machinery 
is being installed now. I’m mighty proud of the 
young man who is starting that work. He will be a 
credit to us I promise you. Directly opposite is The 
King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Company building 
with the offices of the Company. You must let me 
introduce you to the manager, Mr. Burk, and to 
Holmes, the engineer. Come, we will go over there 
now.” He started forward with perspiring energy^ 
but Jefferson Worth, seizing the opportunity, gained 
the doorway of the store and vanished. 

For two weeks Mr. Worth seemed to devote his 
time wholly to his store. Though Deck Jordan still 
continued the active management, it was generally 
understood that Mr. Worth, having but recently 
purchased the establishment, retained Deck until, as 
it was generally expressed, he got the run of the 
businesso At an old desk in a cubby-hole of an office 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


ffoughly partitioned off in one comer of the room^ 
the financier spent nearly every hour of the daj 
apparently poring over his accounts. 

Here the Manager from across the street found 
him when he called to explain to Mr. Worth the 
advantage of an alliance between the store and the 
Company. Mr. Burk did not stay long, hut upon 
his return to his office wrote a long, confidential 
letter to his superiors. The thoughtful Manager’s 
letters to his superiors were always confidential. 

Willard Holmes also called to pay his respects * 
to inquire whether Miss Worth was well; and — as 
Holmes put it to himself when he was again safely 
outside the building — to turn himself inside out fox 
the critical inspection of the man who hid behind 
that gray mask. 

So far as the Manager of The King’s Basin Land 
and Irrigation Company observed, Jefferson Worth 
beside buying the store, made only one small invest- 
ment. He purchased from the Company a small 
tract of land just inside the limits of the townsite 
Then almost before Mr. Burk knew that it was before 
them, the town council passed an ordinance granting 
permission to the Worth Electric Company to place 
their poles and to stretch wires on the streets of the 
town, and the first issue of The King’s Basin Messen 
ger announced with a great flourish of trumpets that 
Kingston was to have lights. 

The article explained that Mr. Abe Lee, the well 
known engineer, formerly with the K. B. L. and L 
Company, would have charge of the construction 
m>rk and would push it with his usual energy. Eon 

210 


THE WIKHIKG OF BARBARA WORTH 


some time Mr. Lee had been in the city arranging 
for material, which would be shipped immediately 
Mr. Worth had stated to the Messenger that Mr. Lee 
would return to Kingston in a day or two and would 
break ground for the power plant at once. The Mes 
senger also gave an interesting history of Jefferson 
Worth’s successful career from farm-boy to financier 
with an appreciation of his character and congratu- 
lated the citizens that a man of such financial 
strength and genius had come to invest the fruit of 
his toil in the new country. 

Mr. Burk read the Messenger’s article thought 
fully. Then Mr. Burk wrote another confidential 
letter to his superiors. 

Over this enterprise of Jefferson Worth, as se: 
forth in the Messenger, the citizens were enthusiastic 
Horace P. Blanton was more than enthusiastic 
Meeting Mr. Burk as the latter was returning to his 
office after dinner he blocked the Manager’s way with 
his white vest and, wiping the sweat of honest 
endeavor from his brow, delivered himself. “Well, 
sir ; we landed it. Biggest thing that ever happened 
to Kingston. Double our population in three months 
I told my friend Worth that they would have te 
come through with that franchise whether they 
wanted to or not, and by George! we landed it 
There was nothing else to do.” 

The Manager thoughtfully flicked the ashes from 
his cigar. “And what is this that you have landed ? 

“What! haven’t you heard? Have you seen the 
Messenger ?” He drew a paper from his pocket and! 


211 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


placed a finger on the headlines: “Electric Lights 
for Kingston.” 

The Manager shifted his cigar to the corner of his 
mouth and, casting his head in the opposite direc- 
tion, surveyed the excited Horace P. as an artist 
might view an interesting picture. “So you are 
interested in the Worth Electric Company ?” 

“Oh no ; that is, not exactly, you know. My name 
will not appear in ithe company. But Jeff and I are 
very warm friends, you understand, and for the sake 
of Kingston I am bound to take an interest in his 
enterprise.” 

At this the thoughtful Mr. Burk became suddenly 
confidential. Tapping his companion impressively 
on the arm and speaking in a low tone of vast import^ 
he said: “Blanton, be careful; be careful. Don’t 
get into Worth’s schemes too deeply. A man of your 
standing and influence, you know, can’t afford to play 
into the hands of a four-flusher.” 

Then the Manager of The King’s Basin Land and 
Irrigation Company slipped easily away before the 
other could reply. 

Three minutes later the man in the big white vest 
overtook the Company’s chief engineer in the door- 
way of the restaurant. “Good morning, Holmes; 
good morning.” The simple greeting seemed to 
come from a great heart that was fairly staggering 
under a burden of other people’s woes. 

As the boy placed their dinners before them ? 
Horace P. Blanton, shaking his massive head, mur- 
mured sadly: “It’s a burning shame, Holmes; & 
burning shame.” 


212 


THE WIKNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


“The coffee, you mean?” queried the engineer* 
digging up a spoonful of sediment from the bottom 
of his heavy cup and inspecting it critically. “It 
looks shameful, all right ; and it may have been over* 
heated some time in past ages, but the temperature 
doesn’t appear to be above normal to-day.” 

The big man did not smile; his burden was too 
heavy. “I mean,” he explained, “the way these four 
ffushers come in here and attempt to work their graft 
right under our eyes. Did you hear about this man 
Worth getting that franchise out of the council ? I 
did my level best, but what’s the use. It’s all as 
plain as day but you can’t hammer an idea into the 
boneheads that run this town. I had a little talk 
with Burk over the matter this morning. He agrees 
with me perfectly. We’ve got to take hold of this 
thing, Mr. Holmes, or the town will go to the dogs, 
I wish Greenfield would come on.” 

The engineer agreed heartily that it might be well 
to take hold of something. But what? That was 
the rub — what ? He gently intimated that if Horace 
P. Blanton could not find a way to avert the awful 
calamity that threatened the public, the public was 
in a bad way. Clearly it was up to Horace P. to 
save Kingston. 

The dinner over the men separated quickly: the 
man in the white vest to carry the burden of Kings 
ton’s future on his fat shoulders, and the engineer 
to inspect the work at Dry River Heading. 

The evening of the third day after Abe Lee’s 
return to Kingston the surveyor and his employer 
.Were in Mr. Worth’s office. The work of excavation 


213 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


for the foundation of the power plant would begin 
in the morning, and Mr. Worth had planned to leave 
town the following morning for a week’s business 
trip to the city. 

The two men were interrupted in their conversa- 
tion by a loud familiar voice on the store side of the 
board partition. 

“Busy, be they ? Well, fwhat the divil should they 
be but busy? Do ye suppose I thought they was 
a-playin’ dominoes?” 

Abe grinned at his employer. They both listened,, 

Deck Jordan’s voice said: “But you better not 
go in now, boys. They will be through in a little 
while.” 

“Go in ? Who the hell’s talkin’ av goin’ in ? Do 
ye think, ye danged counter-hopper, that we’ve no 
manners at all ? For a sup o’ wather I’d go over to 
ye wid me two hands !” 

And another softer voice drawled: “Run along 
Deck. Me an’ my pardner promises not to turn 
violent or break into the sanctuary. We’ll just camp 
here peaceful ’til the meetin’s over.” 

Abe chuckled. “I knew they would be along as 
soon as they heard the news.” He lifted his voice. 
^Come in, boys.” 

Instantly Barbara’s “uncles” appeared. “We axes 
yer pardon, Sorr, for not cornin’ before to pay our 
respects, but we only heard yestherday that ye was 
in the counthry. Ye see, afther we finished at the 
river we was transferred over on Number Three at 
the tail end av nowhere an’ knew nothin’ at all *til 


214 


THE WXNHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


someone brung into camp tbe paper that towld abou£ 
yer doin’s. An’ how is our little girl ?” 

“Very well,” said Mr. Worth. “She told me to 
be sure and remember her to you.” 

“I saw her the other day,” said Abe. “She sent 
you both her love.” 

“Well, now, fwhat do ye think av that? Tex, ye 
danged owld sand rat, ut’s proud av yersilf ye should 
be to be the uncle av sich a darlin’. An’ tell us 
now, Sorr, fwhat’s this I hear about yer buildin’ a 
power plant for electric lights, or street cars, or some- 
thin’ ? We thought that the lad here left the danged 
©ounthry for good, an* sarves thim danged yellow-legs 
that boss the Company right for not knowin’ a man 
whin they see wan.” 

“We begin work in the morning. Abe is in 
charge.” 

“Hurroo !” exclaimed the delighted Irishman* 
“An’ ut’s men ye’ll be wantin’ av course; wan to 
handle the greasers, which is cake to me, an* wan to 
boss the mule skinners, which is pie for Tex. I’m 
thinkin’ the Company will be short handed at Hum- 
ber Three in the momin’.” 

“I have been holding these places open for you,” 
Abe laughed. “If I could get hold of Pablo, now, I 
would be all right. Barbara said to be sure and get 
Mm too. He’s still at Dry River Heading, I hear.’ 

As the two were leaving Texas Joe said to Abe 
?? Are you plumb certain Pablo is at the Heading ?” 

“That’s what one of the crew told me to-day,” 

“Well^ then I reckon he’ll be along pronto/ 9 


215 


TEE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

The next morning when Abe went to the site of 
the work the first mac he saw was Barbara’s friend 
Pablo. The Mexican greeted the surveyor with s- 
show of white teeth. 

“Did you come to work ?” asked Abe* 

“Si, Senor. Senor Texas he come las 9 night with 
two horses. He say Senor Abe want you quick^ 
Pablo. La Senorita say you come. So I am come 
pronto, like he say.” 

“Texas Joe went for you last night?” repeated! 
Abe. 

“Si, Senor. If you want me come — if La Senorita 
want me come — Senor Tex he go tell me come. I 
some. It is no much ride for vaqueros like Senos 
Tex and me.” 

“But you have your job with the Company?” 

The Mexican shrugged his shoulders and his teeth 
showed. “Senor Worth and Senores Lee and Tex 
and Pat good company for Pablo. Beside, is there 
aot La Senorita? She was good to me when I wag 
sick with no one to help. Do not we all — Senores 
Lee and Tex and Pat, and Senor Worth and me— 
do not we all work for La Senorita in La Palma de 
la Mano de Dios ? Is it not so ? Beside 1 think 
sometime La Senorita come — then I would be ne&E 
In the Company there is no Senorita 9 ’ 


CHAPTER XIVo 

MUCH CONFUSION AND HAPPY EXCITEMENT 

S the trying months of the semi-tropical sum' 
mer approached, the great Desert, so awful 
in its fierce desolation, so pregnant with the 
life it was still so reluctant to yield, gathered all its 
dreadful forces to withstand the inflowing streams 
of human energy. In the fierce winds that rushed 
through the mountain passes and swept across the 
hot plains like a torrid furnace blast ; in the blinding, 
stinging, choking, smothering dust that moved in 
golden clouds from rim to rim of the Basin; in the 
blazing, scorching strength of the sun; in the hard, 
hot sky, without shred or raveling of cloud; in the 
creeping, silent, poison life of insect and reptile; in 
the maddening dryness of the thirsty vegetation; in 
the weird, beautiful falseness of the ever-changing 
mirage, the spirit of the Desert issued its silent 
challenge. 

It was not the majestic challenge of the mountains 
with their unsealed heights of peak and dome and 
Impassable barriers of rugged crag and sheer clifL 
It was not the glad challenge of the untamed wilder- 
ness with its myriad formed life of tree and plant 
and glen and stream. It was not the noble challenge 
of the wide-sweeping, pathless plains; nor the wild 
challenge of the restless, storm-driven sea. It wag 

217 



THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


to silent, sinister, menacing threat of a desolation! 
that had conquered by cruel waiting and that lay m 
wait still to conquer. 

With grim determination, nervous energy, endur- 
ing strength and a dogged tenacity of purpose, the 
invading flood of humanity, irresistibly driven by 
that master passion, Good Business, matched its 
strength against that of the Desert in the season of 
its greatest power. 

Steadily mile by mile, acre by acre,, and at times 
almost foot by foot, the pioneers wrested their future 
farms and homes from the dreadful forces that had 
held them for ages. Steadily, with the inflowing 
stream of life from the world beyond the Basin’s 
rim, the area of improved lands about Kingston 
extended and the work in the Company’s town went 
on. By midsummer many acres of alfalfa, with 
Egyptian com and other grains, showed broad fields 
of living green cut into the dull, dun plain of the 
Desert and laced with silver threads of water shining 
in the sun. 

Save for occasional brief business trips to the city 9 
Jefferson Worth did not leave Kingston. In the most 
trying of those grilling days of heat and dust, when 
a man’s skin felt like cracking parchment and his 
eyes burned in their sockets and it seemed as though 
every particle of moisture in his body was sucked up 
by the dry, scorching air, Barbara’s father gave no 
sign of discomfort. He accepted the most nerve= 
racking situation with the even-tempered calmness 
of one who had foreseen it and to whom it was bul 
a trivial incident, inevitable to his far-reaching plans. 

218 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


When others — their tempers tried to the breaking 
point — cursed with dry, high-pitched, querulous 
curses the heat, the land, the sun, the dust, the Com- 
pany and their fellow-sufferers, Jefferson Worth’s 
cool, even tones and unruffled spirit helped them to 
a needed self-control and gave them a new and 
stronger grip on things. And many a baffled, dis- 
couraged and well-nigh beaten settler, ready to give 
up, found in the man whose gray, mask-like face 
seemed so incapable of expression, fresh inspiration 
and new courage ; while the store continued its policy 
of helping the worthy, hard-pressed ranchers with 
necessary material assistance. 

And so it was that while James Greenfield and 
his fellow-capitalists of The King’s Basin Land and 
Irrigation Company were taking their much needed 
vacations and seeking relaxation and rest from busi- 
ness cares at their seaside and mountain retreats, the 
desert pioneers were coming more and more to Jeffer- 
son Worth for advice and counsel, for strength and 
courage and help to go on with the work. By fall 
the financier’s position in the life of the new country 
seemed to be securely won. Perhaps only Jefferson 
Worth himself, alone behind his gray mask, knew 
the real value of his apparent victory. 

The Company’s thoughtful Manager went out— 
as the pioneers had come to say of those who left the 
Basin — for over a month, and for the rest of the 
summer spent only a part of his time in Kingston 
But the Company’s chief engineer refused to leave 
even for a week. To a pressing invitation from 
Greenfield to join him on his vacation, Holmes 


219 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


tnswered that he could not get away. All through 
he J une rise of the river, while the settlers, ignorant 
if the danger that threatened them through the Good 
Business policy of the Company, were risking every- 
rhing that Capital might gain its greater profits, the 
engineer lived in his camp at the intake. Hay and 
night, as he watched the swelling yellow torrent that 
threw its weight against his work, he remembered 
the words of the desert-bred surveyor: “When the 
Gila and the Little Colorado go on the warpath and 
come down on top of a high Colorado flood, you’ll 
catch hell.” It had come in the past, Abe had 
declared, and it would come again. 

But the flood waters of the Gila and the Little 
Colorado did not come down on top of the larger 
river that year and the promoter’s estimate work 
stood. When the danger was past and the engineer 
was free again to make Kingston his headquarters, 
his acquaintance with Jefferson Worth grew into 
something like friendship. It became, indeed, an 
established custom for Mr. Worth, Abe Lee and the 
chief engineer of the Company to sit at the same 
table in the shack restaurant and, during their meals 
of canned stuff, to talk over the work that held them 
from the comforts and pleasures of civilization. 

But little work toward extending the Company 
system could be undertaken during the hot summer 
months. It was difficult for Holmes to hold even 
enough men to maintain that which was already in 
operation. But Jefferson Worth did not fare so 
badly. Abe Lee was steadfast, of course, while 
Texas, Pat and Pablo would, as the Irishman said, 


220 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“have fried thimsilves on the coals av hell” before 
they would quit their job. Were there not letters 
©very week from Barbara with messages to the sur- 
veyor and his three helpers ? Pablo said truly that 
“there was no Senorita in the Company.” So 
through Abe’s leadership, Texas Joe’s diplomacy, 
Pat’s wisdom and Pablo’s influence with his country- 
men, the Worth enterprises did not suffer for lack 
of laborers but went steadily ahead. 

In Kingston the different buildings for the power 
plant and lighting system were nearly completed and 
several cottages were under construction on lots 
owned by Jefferson Worth, while men and teams 
were busy excavating and hauling materials for a 
large ice plant. In Frontera, a little town that 
“just happened” to grow from a supply camp in the 
southern end of the Basin, a hotel and a bank build- 
ing were being erected, while between the two com- 
munities poles for a telephone system were being 
placed. 

Thus far very few women had come into the 
desert. When the torrid summer was past, the first 
crops on the new ranches harvested and more com- 
fortable homes prepared, they would come with 
the children to join the men-folks. Until then the 
new country would continue a man’s country — the 
poorest possible kind of a country, the men them- 
selves declared. 

Therefore when, late in September, The King’s 
Basin Messenger, with an extraordinary blare of 
trumpets, announced the birth of a child and that the 
first-bom of the new country was a boy, the news was 


221 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


received with the greatest excitement. In Kingston, in 
Frontera, at grading camps and ranches, as the word 
was passed, there were wild and joyous celebrations. 
Such a crowd of male visitors closed in on the humble 
tent home to beg for a look at the little pink stranger 
that the matter-of-fact pioneer parents were heard to 
express the wish that they themselves had never been 
born. Had the baby been forced to carry through 
life all the names that were suggested he would 
undoubtedly have echoed the parents’ wish at an 
early age. 

Then came the terrible word to Kingston, brought 
by Texas Joe, that the baby was ill. Tex, returning 
to town from a trip to Frontera, had turned a mile 
aside to bring the latest news of the baby. It was 
early evening and the light yet lingered in the sky 
back of Ho Man’s Mountains, when the citizens, 
relaxing after the heat of the day and the evening 
meal, looked up to see him coming, riding like a mad 
man, his horse white with foam. 

Jefferson Worth, with Abe and Holmes coming 
from the restaurant, had paused a moment in front 
of the store before separating when Texas leaped 
from his staggering mount. One thought flashed into 
the mind of each: “The intake! The river P 
Holmes went white under his tan; Abe’s jaws came 
together with a click; Jefferson Worth’s slim fingers 
caressed his chin. 

As the word passed quickly through the town, the 
crowd that followed Mr. Worth and Texas Joe into 
the store grew until it over-flowed the building and 


222 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


filled the street. Over all there was a solemn hush^ 
save for low-spoken words of inquiry, or explanation^ 
and of advice. What to do was the question. What 
could they do ? There was no doctor nearer than 
Rubio City and men who pioneer in a desert land 
are not men experienced with sickness. 

On a high shelf in one back corner of the store 
there was a small dust-covered stock of assorted 
patent medicines. Desperately they pulled the bottles 
down and studied the labels and directions, but only 
to their further confusion and doubt. At last, his 
pockets laden with everything that seemed to promise 
a possible relief, Texas Joe set out on a fresh horse, 
the first one handy, to be followed later by a spring 
wagon drawn by four fast broncos and carrying four 
women. The entire female population of Kingston 
had been mustered by Abe Lee, whom the ladies 
declared then and there to be the only man of sense 
in all The King’s Basin. 

For the first evening since his arrival Jefferson 
Worth left his office in the store to mingle with the 
restless crowds on the street that, in ever-changing 
knots and groups, discussed in fearful voice this 
public calamity. No one dreamed of retiring. No 
one had thoughts for sleep, nor indeed for anything 
save the little sufferer in the tent house ten miles 
out on the Desert. They smoked and talked and 
swore softly in hushed tones and waited the return 
of Texas Joe. 

It was after midnight when he came again. Before 
he could dismount, the crowd of silent men hemmed 


223 


THE WIHNTHG OF BARBARA WOBTH 


Him in. From the saddle the old plainsman looked 
down into their eager solemn faces and that slow 
smile broke over his sun-blackened features. 

“Boys,” he drawled, “I’m sure proud to bring 
you-all the unanimous verdict of the female relief 
expedition sent out by our illustrious fellow-citizen, 
Abe Lee. The kid’s better and is headed straight for 
good health and six or eight square meals a day.” 

When the joyous chorus of yells that would have 
startled a coyote two miles away subsided, Tex dis- 
mounted and approached Jefferson Worth. “Mr 0 
Worth, them women commanded me also to return 
to you with their compliments and gratitude the 
various and sundry bottles with which same my 
clothes is full. One of them angels of mercy, it 
seems, went to the scene of action loaded with a flask 
of castor oil.” 

Just before retiring that night Mr. Worth said to 
his superintendent: “Abe, I’m going out in the 
morning. You had better push the work on that 
largest cottage as fast as possible. I’ll ship in an 
outfit of furniture and things as soon as I get to the 
city. Let me know when the house is finished and 
the goods arrive. You can stack the furniture up 
on the porches or anywhere until I get back. The 
hot weather is about over and the hotel will open 
up next week.” 

“All right, sir,” the surveyor answered quietly 
and made no comment on this unexpected move of 
his employer, though his nerves tingled at the evi- 
dent purpose of his instructions. Abe Lee could not 
know how the events of the evening had awakened 

224 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


in Jefferson Worth memories of another baby in the 
desert — memories that stirred the child-hungry heart 
of the lonely man and drove him to his daughter 
without an hour’s delay. 

Did Abe Lee push the work on the house ? Did he ? 
Every man in Jefferson Worth’s employ, who could 
find a place to lay his hand on the building, was put 
on the job. By the time the house was finished the 
furniture had arrived. 

It was quitting time and Pablo, who with four 
Mexican laborers had been at work grading the yard 
and removing the rubbish that had accumulated inch 
dent to building, dismissed his helpers. The sur> 
veyor was gloomily contemplating the pile of boxes, 
bales and crates on the front porch. Evidently there 
was something not to the surveyor’s liking. 

“Senor Lee.” 

The surveyor turned sharply to face the Mexican^ 
whose dark features were glowing with pleasura 
“Well ?” 

“Pardon, but Senor Lee seems not pleased. Is not 
the work well done?” 

“The work is all right, Pablo. You have done 
well. It is not that. I was wishing I had nerve 
enough to tackle another job.” 

The Mexican smiled. “Oh, Senor, you make fum 
What can not El Senor do ? He can do everything.” 

“There is a job here all right I don’t sabe, Pablo.” 
Abe turned again to the pile of household goods. 

“Si Senor, me sabe. It is that La Senorita come 
pronto an’ Senor Lee would have the house what you 
call ready.” 


225 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Abe started at the tone of quiet conviction. “How 
the devil do you know that La Senorita is coming ?” 
he asked sharply. 

The answer came with a flash of white teeth: “For 
what else does El Senor hurry so the house? For 
w T hat else does he all time cry — ‘Pronto! pronto!’ 
and go not much to the other work but stay all time 
here? And is there not all this — ” He waved his 
hand gracefully to indicate the household goods. 
“For who should it be that Senor Lee is hurry so ? 
When Texas Joe come say — ‘Senor Worth is here/ 
I think quick some time La Senorita come. I work 
for Senor Worth, as La Senorita send word, that I 
may be near. All time I work I say — ‘It is for La 
Senorita.’ Pretty quick now she come and with 
Senor Lee will be happy to live in the house he 
make.” 

A deeper red than the desert color stained the sur- 
veyor’s thin cheeks as he said: “You’re a good 
hombre, Pablo, but you’re away off on part of what 
you say. I reckon you’re right enough that Miss 
Worth is coming, but she will live here with her 
father just as they did in Ruhio City. And listen, 
Pablo. You must never say to anyone what you 
have said to me. You sabe, Pablo ? I am with La 
Senorita as you are, and Tex and Pat; sabe?” 

“Si, Senor; forgive me; I am sorry. But some- 
time it will be if El Senor is patient.” 

The surveyor, annoyed at the Mexican’s talk, but 
unwilling, because of the spirit that prompted the 
words, to speak sharply, sought to dismiss the matter 
by changing the subject. He explained to Pablo how 

226 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


he was wishing that he could unpack the furniture 
and have the house all ready when Air. Worth and 
Barbara arrived. 

“Why not ?” asked the Mexican. 

Abe shook his head. “It’s out of my line. I don’t 
aabe the job, Pablo.” 

“Maybe so Tex and Pat, they would sabe.” 

“By George, I believe Pat would. Texas wouldn’t 
be any better than I, but Pat ought to know some- 
thing about such things. You go tell them I want 
them at the office to-night. Pat was at the power 
house to-day and Texas will be coming in from the 
line early.” 

“Si, Senor And Senor Lee! La Senorita will 
want a horse.” 

“Hell, I forgot that!” 

Pablo smiled. “I know where is good one — a 
beautiful horse, Senor. Long time I watch him and 
think some day he be for La Senorita when she come. 
The man will sell for enough. Shall I go to-morrow ?” 

“Yes, get him. Tell the man it is for me and 
that I will pay. Ho” — he corrected himself — “tell 
him it is for Senor Worth and that he will pay, 
Babe ? You must not speak of me.” 

“Si, Senor; it shall be as you say. To-morrow 
slight I return.” 

That evening at the office in the rear of the store 
Abe laid the situation before Pat and Texas Joe. 
Could the three undertake to. have the furniture un 
packed and the house properly settled? The hotel 
had been opened to receive guests, of course, but — — 

Texas J oe shook his head solemnly. “I pass* Ab&. 

m 


THE WH03THG OF BARBARA WORTEO 

There airt no nse in my affirmin' that I knows any 
thing about such undertakings,. Household fumishm 
such as is proper in a ease like this is a long way ofi 
my range.’" 

But the Irishman waxed indignant, *‘Sich ignoi 
ance as ye two do be showin’ is heathenish,” h* 
declared. “I suppose now ye wud be for puttin' the 
cook stove in the parlor an’ settin* up the piany ir 
the young lady’s budwar/* 

The strange word caught the attention of Texas 
Instantly* “An* what might that be, pard V' hf 
drawled. -‘What’s a budwar?” 

Pat snorted. “Bud war, ye ignorant owld limb, ie 
polite for the girl’s bedroom, which in civilization h 
>iot discussed by thim as has manners.” 

Such overwhelming evidence of the Irishman’© 
familiarity with the best social customs was not tc 
be rejected. The morning stage carried a telegram 
to be sent from Deep Well to Jefferson Worth, anc 
all that day the three toiled under command of Pat 
When the evening stage brought a message from Air 
Worth saying that he and Barbara would arrive the 
following evening, they decided that a night shift 
was necessary and worked until nearly morning 
i*edoubling their efforts the following day. 

When the dusty old stage with its four half-brokei 
Dorses pulled into Kingston that night, three tirec 
and anxious, but joyful, desert men occupied th* 
front, rank of the waiting crowd before the new hotel 
With all the grace of generous curves and por 
ierous dignity, Horace P. Blanton was first to alight 
When he turned his broad back to the -‘common 


228 


IHE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


lercF and, with an indescribable air of proprietor* 
^hip, assisted Miss Worth to the ground, three dark- 
ened faces scowled with disapproval and three smotk 
ered oaths expressed deep disgust. 

The excited citizens behind the three crowded 
closer Even Ynez, climbing down from the stage*, 
was received with another cheer by the delighted 
men. The irrepressible Horace P., quick to recog- 
aize the spirit of the company and ever ready to do 
more than his part, burst into an eloquent address 
of welcome in behalf of the entire population of 
The Ranges Basin. But the ceremony was interrupted 
and the imposing personage in the white vest was 
thrust roughly aside while Barbara, with glad eyes 
and hands outstretched, greeted the rude disturbers 
of the great man ? s dignity. 

“Texas ! Pat ? Mr. Lee ! Oh, I’m glad ! I have 
been hoping all day that you would be here to meet 
me. It seemed to me that I would never get here. 
It has been the longest day of my life.” Which, con- 
sidering that the impressive attentions of Horace P, 
Blanton had been continuous since the moment when 
he had forced an introduction from Mr 0 Worth on 
fehe train that morning, was rather hard on his 
majesty.. 

But much experience in similar situations had 
made Horace P Blanton immune to such thrusts* 
Even while Barbara was speaking he regained his 
rolace at her side*. With his voice and manner of a 
'^personal conductor” — before either of the three 
tsouid speak— he followed her words with: “Ah, 
Miss Worthy I see you already know some of our 

229 


THE WIHNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


men. Texas, Pat and Abe here are three of the best 
fellows we have. They — ” 

Again he was interrupted. The young woman 
turned easily aside to Abe, and Horace P. found 
himself very close to and facing the tall plainsman 
and the heavy shouldered Irish boss. 

“Excuse me, Colonel,” drawled Texas in tones so 
soft that no one in the noisy crowd could hear ; “but 
the welfare of the citizens of this here community, 
as well as the safety of the country, demands your 
immediate presence up the street.” 

Without hesitation the lordly one exclaimed: “Ah, 
thank you, Tex. Miss Worth will excuse me I’m 
sure. Please explain my absence to her.” Then 
before their startled eyes he faded away — if the 
vanishing of such a bulk can be so described. 

A few minutes after the passing of Horace P c 
Blanton, Tex and Pat also disappeared, for it was 
part of the carefully arranged plot that Barbara’s 
“uncles” were to see to the disposal of the girl’s 
trunks while she was at supper at the hotel with her 
father and Abe. 

At the table Barbara was all eagerness in her 
desire to know everything about the work; and the 
surveyor, in answering her questions, found himself 
drawn out of the dumbness that usually beset him 
in such situations. 

“And our house?” asked the girl. “When can I 
begin settling? You see I brought Ynez with me. 
Can we begin in the morning, Abe ? And could you 
spare Pat and Tex to help us?” 

Abe glanced at, his employer. “If you wouM like 


230 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


to see the house we can look at it this evening after 
supper.” 

“Can we ? Can we go, daddy ?” 

Jefferson Worth met Abe’s look with a twinkle in 
the corner of his eye, but he only answered his eager 
daughter with a calm, “If you like.” 

They found the house with every window bril- 
liantly lighted, and on the front porch, on opposite 
sides of the wide-open door, Texas and Pat standing 
to welcome them. From one room to another Bar- 
bara ran in laughing delight, followed by the three, 
who were perspiring in an agony of suspense while 
Jefferson Worth looked on. The cook stove was not 
in the parlor, nor was the piano — out of place. In 
the proper room Barbara even found her trunks. 
There was a supply of provisions in the pantry and 
kindlings even ready by the kitchen stove for the 
morning fire. If there were little irregularities here 
and there, Barbara, with graceful tact, did not see 
them but, to the delight of the three men, declared 
again and again that no woman could have done it 
better. 

The climax came when she said that unless her 
father insisted she would not even return to the hotel 
that evening. Could hot someone go for the hand 
luggage and Ynez ? Breathless the three waited, and 
when Mr. Worth said he saw no reason why they 
should leave their own home for a hotel Tex and 
Pat could hold themselves no longer but made a wild 
run for the door. 

When Barbara’s “uncles” had returned with the 
Indian woman and the grips, Pat stood in the center 


231 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


of the living room and looked curiously about — an 
expression of wonder upon his battle-scarred Irish 
countenance. “How don’t that bate the divil ! Tell 
me” — he faced the girl with mock severity — “fwhat’s 
this ye’ve been doin’ already?” 

“Doing ?” exclaimed Barbara, “I haven’t been 
doing anything, Uncle Pat.” 

“Aw, go on, don’t be tellin’ me that. Aven Uncle 
Tex here can see that ye’ve changed ivery blissid 
thing in the place. ’Tis not the same, at all, an ? 
afther us a-workin’ our fingers to the bone to fix ut 
up. ’Tis quare. I know now that Tex hung that 
curtain there. Ye could have heard him swearin’ 
a mile away, but ut’s not that same curtain at all, at 
all. ’Tis mighty quare.” 

For an hour or more Barbara, at the piano, sang 
for them the simple songs they loved, while many a 
tired horseman, riding past on his way to his lonely 
desert shack or to some rough camp on the works, 
paused to listen to the sweet voice and to dream 
perhaps of the time that was to come when such 
sounds would no longer seem strange on the Desert. 

When the hour came for Texas and Pat and Abe 
to go, and Barbara with shining eyes tried again to 
express her gratitude while insisting that they must 
always come to her home as to their own, the three 
felt that indeed they had their reward. And when 
later the girl kissed her father good night Jefferson 
Worth also knew in his lonely heart that he had done 
well. 


232 


CHAPTER XYc 


BARBARA COMES INTO HER OWN, 

EFFERSOH WORTH and his daughter had 
just finished their first breakfast in the new 
home when their Indian servant woman 
entered the room. 

“What is it, Ynez?” asked Barbara, seeing that 
the woman wished to speak. 

Ynez’s black eyes were shining and her voice was 
eager as she answered: “There is someone without 
waiting for La Senorita.” 

“Someone waiting outside for me, Ynez ?” 

“Who is it ?” asked Mr. Worth. 

“It is Pablo Garcia, Senor, and he say please ask 
La .Senorita to come. If La Senorita will go only 
to the door she can see.” 

With an expression of excited interest Barbara, 
followed by her father, went out on the porch. In 
front of the house stood Pablo holding a beautiful 
saddle horse fully equipped and ready for a rider. 
The Mexican’s dark face shone with the pride and 
triumph of the moment toward which he had looked 
forward for months. The horse, too, as if sensing 
the importance of the occasion, pawed the earth with 
his dainty hoofs, arched his neck and tossed his 
head — proudly impatient. 

Uttering low exclamations and little cries of 



233 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


delight the girl left the porch and ran forward, 
greeting Pablo and moving about the horse, admir- 
ing the animal from every point of view. “What a 
beauty ! He is perfect, Pablo ; perfect ! Where did 
you find him? Is he yours? What’s his name?” 
Her questions came tumbling from her lips in such 
eager bursts that Pablo answered only the last. 

“lie is yours, Senorita. His name El Capitan.” 

“Mine?” Barbara turned to her father, who ex- 
plained, Abe having told him the night before of 
the purchase. 

When her father finished, the delighted girl 
announced that she “simply couldn’t wait” but must 
go for a ride immediately. Running into the house 
she returned a few minutes later in her riding dress 
and, mounting with — “I’ll be back for dinner, 
daddy,” and “Adios, Pablo !” — rode away toward the 
open country, while the Mexican and the banker 
watched her out of sight. 

By the time they had passed the last of the te^t 
houses in the town Barbara and El Capitan were 
friends. There is no doubt whatever that a worthy 
horse appreciates a worthy rider and the girl, accus- 
tomed to riding since childhood, certainly appreci- 
ated her mount. 

“Oh, you beauty!” she cried, leaning forward in 
the saddle to pat the shining neck. “Oh, you 
beauty !” 

As though to return the compliment and express 
his pleasure at finding such an agreeable companion, 
El Capitan turned his delicate pointed ears forward, 
arched his neck, and, stepping as on a velvet carpet^ 

234 


THE WISHING OE BARBARA WORTH 

eprang lightly to the other side of the road in sheea 
overflow of good spirits and confidence in his rider s 
while the girl, at his play, laughed aloud. 

But Barbara had eyes and thoughts for more than 
her horse that morning. It was her first day in “her 
Desert” and there was much for her to see. 
Through her father she had kept in close touch with 
every phase of the work of reclaiming The King*® 
Basin and had often begged him to take her with him 
into the new country. How at last her wish was 
realized. She was where she could see with her own 
©yes the Seer’s dream — the Seer’s and her own- 
coming true. 

On either hand as she rode, stretching away until 
all fixed lines and objects were lost in the shifting 
mirage and many-colored lights of the desert, the 
dun plain with its thin growth of thirsty vegetation 
was broken by the green cultivated fields, newh 
leveled acres, buildings and stacks of the ranches, 
with canals, ditches and ponds filled with water that 
reflected the colors of the morning. Everywhere, ir 
what had been a land of death, life was stirring. Ir 
one field beside the road a herd of soft-eyed cattle, 
knee-deep in rich alfalfa, lifted their heads to greet 
her. In another a band of horses and colts scam 
pered along with her as far as their fence would per 
mit, as if good-naturedly seeking her further 
acquaintance. Everywhere men with their teams 
were at work in the fields newly won from the desert 
At one house u woman was hanging her weekly wash 
m the line, while a group of children played in the 
jarc L As the girl passed the woman waved her banc 

235 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTB 


fmd the children shouted a greeting. And a little, 
farther on a meadow-lark, perched on a fence-post 
filled the world with liquid music. 

The wine-dike atmosphere, the glorious light* tih< 
odor of the fields and the strength and beauty of tht 
life new born in the desert, with the spirit and free 
dom of the animal she rode, all appealed with almost 
jpamfui intensity to the girl who was herself so richly 
.alive. She felt her close kinship with it all and 
answered to it all out of the fullness of her own 
young woman's strength. She wanted to cry aloud 
with the joy and gladness of the victory over barren 
ness and desolation. It was her Desert that was 
yielding itself to the strong ones; for them it had 
waited— waited through the ages, and at last they 
had come 

Busy with her thoughts, Barbara rode on until she 
had passed out of the settled district of which Kings 
ton was the center and found herself in the desert 
Save for the lightly marked trail sh6 was following 
and the thin line of her father’s telephone poles that 
led southward to Frontera, she saw no sign of a 
human being Checking her horse and turning, she 
looked back, A tiny spot of thin color— the red of 
brick, the yellow of new lumber and the white of 
tents — marked Kingston. The ranches about the 
desert town were scattered spots of green scarcely 
seen at that distance. All the rest, from the distant 
snow-capped sentinels of the Pass in the north to- 
Lone Mountain in the south and from the purpk 
Mountain wall on the west to the sky-line of the Mes& 


236 


THE WIKKIKG OF BARBARA WORTH 


m the east, was the same dun plain as she had 
always known it. 

Barbara caught her breath. Seen near at hand the 
work accomplished had seemed so great, so brave $ 
seen from even so short a distance as she had come 5 
It looked so pitifully small, so helpless. The desert 
was so huge, so masterful, so dominating in its silent 
grandeur, in its awful loneliness. All her life Bar 
bara had seen the desert from her home in Rubio 
City. Many, many times she had ridden into it 
and back a day’s ride. But never had she felt tbs 
dreadful spirit of the land as she felt it now, alone in 
the still, lonely heart of it. She was afraid with m 
unreasoning fear. 

El Capitan, too, seemed to share her uneasiness 
Tossing his head, tugging at the bridle reins and paw- 
ing the ground and starting nervously, he turned this 
way and that, signifying his desire to be away t But 
|ust as Barbara, on tbe point of yielding to hb 
impatience and her own feeling of fear, lifted the 
reins to turn toward Kingston again, he threw up 
Ms head with a loud neigh and with ears pointed 
looked away ioward^the south, standing rigid and 
motionless as a horse of stone. A cloud of dust rising 
from the trail told her that someone was approach 
Ing, Instantly the girl’s feeling of fear vanished 
She laughed aloud, 

^Company is coming, Capitan,” she said. “Shall 
w© wait until we see who it is ? We can easily rim 
away if we don’t like his looks/’ 

As she finished speaking, the light wind that wag 
float; strong enough to carry the dust with the coxmn§ 


THE WIHHIHG OE BARBARA WORTH 


dder shifted for a moment and revealed the horse- 
man clearly, Barbara, not wishing to appear as 
though waiting, started ahead toward Kingston*, 
while the stranger, evidently catching sight of a 
horse and rider on the road ahead and desiring com* 
pany, quickened his pace. 

Barbara glanced over her shoulder. “Shall we 
run, Capitan? Ho, we’ll not run yet. But be 
ready.” Again she glanced quickly back. “It’s nc 
one we know, Capitan. Be ready.” 

Hearer and nearer came the stranger. 

When she heard the sound of his horse’s feet on 
the sand Barbara turned again, this time openly. 
Then she laughed. “I don’t think we’ll run this 
time, Capitan.” 

A moment later the horseman had overtaken her. 

“Good morning, Mr. Holmes. How do you do ?” 

“Miss Worth!” 

Had the engineer checked his horse so suddenly a 
few months before he would undoubtedly have gone 
over the animal’s head. El Capitan also stopped, 
while the man and the girl sat looking at each other, 
Barbara smiling at the man’s surprise. 

“Is it really you ?” asked Holmes at last, “or is it 
some new trick of this confounded desert?” He 
rubbed his eyes. “I never saw a mirage like this 
before and I don’t think the heat has affected my 
brain.” He moved his horse closer. “Could you 
shake hands ?” 

Barbara held out her hand. “I assure you that I 
am very substantial,” she laughed, “and I am here to 
stay, too.” 


238 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“That’s great ! By George ! it’s good to see you/* 
sried Holmes so heartily that the girl turned away 
tier face and caused her horse to move ahead 

The engineer’s horse, with a word from his rider 5 
kept his place by El Capitan’s side. 

"It’s very nice of you to say that hut I didn’t see* 
you anywhere around last night when the stage 
arrived, Abe and Pat and Texas were there and this 
morning even Pablo came the first thing after break* 
fast.” 

Willard Holmes could not altogether hide his pleas- 
ure at her hinted rebuke. So she had thought of 
him — had looked for him — had missed him. “In 
deed, you must forgive me. I did not know you were 
coming,” he said and explained how his work took 
Mm away from Kingston much of the time. 

“Of course, under those circumstances, I must 
forgive you,” agreed Barbara, then added seriously? 
“I think I could forgive anyone who belonged to this 
desert work, anything, except one.” 

“And that ?” He was watching her face, “What 
is it that you could not forgive ?” 

She returned his look steadily. “Don’t you 
know ?” 

He drew a little back and she wondered at some- 
thing in his voice and manner as he answered s “Yes, 
I know,, You could never forgive one for being 
untrue to his work — for putting anything before the 
work itself.” 

“Yes,” she returned, “that is it. I could never 
forgive one who did that.” 

“But how would you know? How could yow 

239 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Judge V 9 he asked almost roughly, “Perhaps the vet; 
one whom you would call false to the work would, ur 
reality, be doing the best thing for the work I have 
noticed that, after all, thos' who have the loftiest 
ideals and the highest visions of man's duty to mar 
and all that are seldom the ones who accomplish 
much of the actual work of the world. Look here 
honestly -nows how many of the people who an 
reclaiming this desert — I mean all of us — laborers 
business men, ranchers, everybody who has come n 
here to dc this work — how many of them do yoc 
think see a single thing beyond the dollars they haw 
hoped to make on the venture? Whether it's ti> 
high wage paid by the Company, the big profits oc 
she business man or the heavier crop of the rancher 
it amounts to the same. And yet you would msis 
that they must not be governed by this desire fo; ? 
gaim So far as I can see, it is this same desire for 
gam that has driven men into doing every really 
great thing that has ever been done. Look carefully 
into every great enterprise that is of value to tin 
world and you will find at the beginning of it some 
one reaching for a dollar or its equivalent You? 
father, for instance — ” 

Barbara threw out her hand protestingly “Please 
don’t, Mr. Holmes. I know that what you say 
every bit true. Father and X have gone over it sc 
many times. And yet I know, I know that what I 
feel is true also. Oh, dear! what a muddle it is. 
isn’t it ? It seems so wrong to spend one's life work 
ing for nothing but money. And yet all the really 
good work in the world is done by those who don't* 

240 


THE WINDING OF BARBARA WORTH 


'fork to do good at all but for what they get out of ifc 
l suppose now that you stayed in the Desert all this 
past summer and worked so hard without any vaca- 
tion at all just for your salary.” 

“How did you know that I took no vacation ?” 

'‘Father told me. You seem to have made quite 
an impression on my father* He has told me a great 
deal about you. But I want to know — did you stay 
In the desert for money?” 

Holmes wondered if she knew the danger that 
threatened the settlers because of the unsubstantial 
character of the Company’s structures* “Perhaps,” 
he said, “it was to save my professional reputation* 
That would amount to the same thing, wouldn’t it V 9 

Barbara laughed. “I don’t think that your taking 
& vacation would have lost you your reputation* 
That won’t do, Mr* Chief Engineer.” For some 
reason Barbara seemed highly pleased at the turn the 
conversation had taken. 

The man thought of those anxious days and nightg 
at the intake, when the safety of the success of the 
whole King’s Basin proj’ect hung on the whim of an 
uncertain river, but he did not explain to Barbara 
aor did he tell her that a vacation would have made 
no difference in his salary* 

“I’ll tell you why you stayed with the work in the 
Desert this summer, Mr. Holmes,” she said, and in 
Ber voice was a note of pleased triumph, 

“Why?” he asked* 

“Because you are learning the language of the 

country.” 

For an instant he was puzzled. Then he remem- 
241 


THE WIOTIKG OF BARBARA WORTH 


Ibered the evening he had said good-by, “Si, Senorita 
I suppose one could not help learning a little in La 
Palma de la Mano de Dios, could he V 9 

“Rbt if he had ancestors/* came the answer. 

Holmes flushed, ^WTiat a snob I must have 
geemed to you that day/* he said in deep disgust at 
the recollection of his first attempt to impress the 
western girl with the importance of his place in life. 

“I don't think snob is just the word/* she an 
ewered. “I didn’t mind that ancestor business and 
all that one bit. In fact I think I rather enjoyed it 
You were such a tenderfoot! But there was some- 
thing else I did mind. Did you know that there was 
a time when 1 hated you with my whole heart V 9 

“Miss Worth F 

“It’s so. I even promised myself that I would 
never speak to you again — never! Then I came 
after awhile to understand, how foolish it was of me 
to blame you and father told me so much of your 
work here this summer that I became heartily 
ashamed of myself. I’m telling you now because, 
you see, I have come here to stay and to be, m & 
way, a tiny little part in this great work you are 
doing, and I feel that I ought to tell you so that we 
©an start square again.” 

“But, Miss Worth, what in the world are you 
talking about V 9 

“I know it was foolish of me for you were not a 
all to blame. But I couldn’t help it. It is all over 
though and we are square now— or will be when jom 
hsive said that you forgive me/ 5 * 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“But I don’t know what you mean. What on 
earth did I do?” 

She looked straight at him. “Can’t you even 
guess ?” 

“I haven’t the ghost of an idea.” 

“Well, I’m glad you haven’t,” she declared, “even 
if it does make me appear so foolish. It was because 
the Seer was discharged and you were put in his 
place.” 

“But I—” 

“Oh, I know all about it,” she interrupted. “You 
didn’t do it. You were not to blame. The Company 
did it because it was Good Business. I told you it 
was all over now. But please, I don’t think we’d 
better talk about it only just for you to say that you 
forgive me. I had to tell you for that, you see.” 

Then the once carefully proper Willard Holmes 
did a thing that would have astonished his most 
intimate eastern friends beyond expression. Rein- 
ing his horse close to El Capitan he held out his hand 
to Barbara. 

“Shake, pard! You’re the squarest girl I ever 
knew.” 

It was no flimsy, two-fingered ceremony, but a 
whole-hearted, whole-handed grip that made the 
man’s blood move more quickly. Unconsciously, as 
he felt the warm strength in the touch of the girl’s 
hand, he leaned toward her with quick eagerness. 
And Barbara, who was looking straight into his face 
with the open frankness of one man to another, 
started and drew back a little, turning her head 
aside. 


243 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


For some distance they rode in silence, then she 
began questioning him about his life in the desert 
and all the rest of the way home made him talk of the 
work so dear to her heart. As he talked and the girl 
watched his strong bronzed face and listened to his 
words, she found something in his voice and manner 
that was not there that day when she introduced him 
to “her Desert.” There was a self-reliance, an en- 
thusiasm, a purpose that was good to hear. 

At the door of her new home when he, pleading 
his work, would not stay for lunch but promised to 
call in the evening, she bade him “Adios” in the soft 
tongue of the Southland and when he had wheeled 
his horse and was riding away, Barbara turned on 
the porch to look after him. Watching the khaki clad 
figure that was so easily at home in the saddle and 
that, with the loping horse, seemed so much a part 
of the country, the girl wondered at the change that 
was being wrought by the wild land upon the man 
from the eastern city. 

“Indeed,” she thought, “he is learning the lan- 
guage of the desert !” And she, too, was glad. 

When Holmes arrived at the Company headquar- 
ters the General Manager shifted his cigar to the 
somer of his mouth and cocked his head to one side, 
looking him over critically. 

“Buenas dias, Senor,” cried the engineer gaily, 
throwing his sombrero, quirt and gloves on the floor 
and helping himself from the box of cigars on the 
desk. Holmes was still thinking in the language of 
Barbara’s land. 

“Humph!” grunted the slender man at the desk, 

244 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


“I said ‘hello’ to you when you passed the office, also 
I bowed my best Hew York bow, but you were too 
engaged to see. Were you practicing your greaser 
lingo on her ? I suppose she talks it like a native.” 

“She talks a language you would not understand,, 
my friend,” said Holmes coolly, lighting a cigar. 

“Probably not,” agreed the other. “Who am I 
that I should understand the words of a being of 
such exalted rank? The whole fool town is crazy 
over her already. I’ve heard nothing but Miss Worth, 
Miss Worth, all morning. You would think the hotel 
was a ladies’ sewing circle. Every man on the street 
is wearing his Sunday clothes and walks with his 
head twisted over his shoulder for fear he will miss 
a glimpse of her. Horace P. Blanton is the man of 
the hour. He came in with her last night and is 
arranging a public reception, talking like the bush 
ness manager of a Greek goddess. And now here 
you go riding down the street with her, so interested 
that you can’t even see me. Permit me to congratu- 
late you. You certainly have lost no time.” 

Holmes scowled. “That fellow Blanton is an 
officious ass,” he growled, “and you” — he checked 
himself. 

“Go on ; go on !” cried the delighted Burk. “Don’t 
spare me. In the name of the goddess, smite !” 

The engineer laughed in spite of himself, though 
he spoke sharply. “Cut it out, Burk. I met Miss 
Worth in Rubio City when I landed fresh from Hew 
York. She’s a mighty charming girl, whom you’ll 
be as glad as anybody to know. She was riding over 
in the West District this morning and I overtook 


245 


THE WIUKIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


her on my way in. Of course we came on together. 
Have you heard from Uncle Jim?” 

The Manager dropped his bantering tone instantly 
and taking an open letter from his desk, scanned it 
thoughtfully as he answered : “He’ll be here Satur- 
day. He’s not at all pleased, Holmes, with my report 
on the Worth operations. Our friend Jeff’s getting 
altogether too strong a grip on things. It beats all 
the way he hops into a game and draws all the high 
cards before you know he is on the other side of the 
table.” 

The thoughtful Manager of The King’s Basin 
Land and Irrigation Company was evidently wor- 
ried. Holmes made no reply. 

With his eyes still on the letter in his hand Burk 
asked : “How are you getting on with the survey of 
the South Central District?” 

“Black finished yesterday. I brought in the data.” 

“What do you think of it ?” 

“It’s no good, Burk. The land is a rough jumble 
of small hummocks, covered with a heavy growth 
of greasewood and mesquite, and practically all of it 
lies so high that we could never get the water on it 
at all.” 

Burk considered. “Do you know whether Abe 
Lee ever went over that district ?” 

Holmes stiffened. “Uo, he never worked in that 
part of the Basin at all, but what the deuce has Lee 
to do with it ? Black is a graduate engineer and as 
good a man as ever looked over a transit. If you 
can’t trust the men I send out, why” — 

“Wow, wow!” cried Burk, “keep your shirt on* 

246 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


old man ! I’m not making insinuations against youf 
pet surveyor. I merely asked for information, How 
if you please, turn your South Central data over to 
your office force and tell them to get it in shape by 
Saturday without faiL It ? s an order, mj atm* 
Selahl” 


247 


CHAPTEB XVI, 

IEFFERSON WORTH’S OPERATIONS, 


HE crowd that waited in front of the new 
hotel for the arrival of the stage, the evening 
Janies Greenfield came to Kingston, was 
unusually large. The King’s Basin Messenger had an- 
nounced the coming of the promoter and president of 
The King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Company and 
the pioneers had assembled to see the famous cap 
italist whose power in the money world was making 
possible the reclamation of the desert. 

Mr. Greenfield’s greeting in the lobby, under the 
perspiring efforts of Horace P. Blanton, soon 
assumed the proportions of a public reception. With 
his Manager to introduce the prominent citizens, and 
Horace P., who was never farther than a yard from 
the capitalist’s elbow to assist in receiving them, the 
man from Hew York entered graciously into the 
spirit of the occasion. And when the man in the 
white vest, intoxicated by the atmosphere of great- 
ness, burst forth in a speech of welcome, setting 
forth the wonders of The King’s Basin, the mar- 
velous growth and future of Kingston, the greatness 
of Greenfield and — quite incidentally — the greatness 
of Horace P. Blanton, all in behalf of the people, the 
Easterner replied with a few modest remarks, in 
which he hinted at even greater things to come, prom- 

248 



THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Ising by subtle suggestion unlimited wealth for ai 
who would invest their money and their lives in The 
King’s Basin project. 

Then Mr. Greenfield slipped away with Willard 
Holmes to his room. The friendship between th© 
engineer’s own parents and his benefactor had been 
lifelong and very close. It was a story, years ago 
forgotten by the world, of hGW Grace Winton had 
chosen one of the two college chums and why the 
other had never married. In the repeated business 
failures of his old schoolmate and the consequent 
loss of his fortune the successful financier had proven 
himself many times a friend in need, and through 
the long illness of the man who had been successful 
in winning the woman they both loved, Greenfield^ 
with his wealth, had been steadfast in his thoughtful 
care. When baby Willard’s mother died soon after 
the death of his father, she — knowing the heart of 
the man whose love for her had kept him childless—^ 
committed to him her only child, and Greenfield^ 
accepting the trust, had taken the hoy into his life 
and heart as his own son. 

After the loss of William Greenfield, his only 
brother, James Greenfield — whose power in the 
financial world was steadily increasing — had no one 
to intimately share his success but young Holmes^ 
and when Willard had finished his school and chosexa 
his profession the older man used the influence of 
his own position to give the young engineer every 
advantage. 

As the two men faced each other now after the 
longest separation they had ever known, the Com 


249 


the wihhihg of Barbara worth 


$>any*s president studied his chief engineer with 
interest* 

“Well, Willard, my boy/* he said at last; “how 
do you like it ? Say, but you are looking fine. You 
always were a handsome youngster but you’re—' 
you’re improving, young man, T’m blessed if you 
don’t look like a work of art done in bronze,” He 
laughed with the pleasure of his own conceit and the 
other laughed with him,, 

“Wait until this sun gets a shot at you. Unde 
Jim.” 

“Humph! I suppose you think it will make me 
into some sort of an hideous old ldoL I don’t pro= 
pose to stay long enough to give it a chance,” he 
added grimly, and as he finished a shadow fell over 
his face and the laughter died out of his voice* 

“What’s the matter ; don’t you like the West, Uncle 
Jim?” 

“I hate it, and with good reason. Don’t you get 
too interested out here, Willard. We’ll clean up a 
nice little p) T ° out of this scheme and get back home 
where we belong. I miss you like the deuce, boy !” 

The engineer started to say something alx>ut the 
work, but Greenfield held up his hand. “Hot a word 
about business to-night, Willard. We’ll take that up 
to-morrow. Tell me where I can get a shave and 
then we’ll have dinner and after that a quiet evening 
together.” 

, Holmes laughed,. “We have a barber „ all right, 
Uncle Jim, He landed with his outfit this afternoon 
There was no place for him, and the freighter un 
loaded him on a vacant lot about a block west of th* 


250 


THE WINKING OF BARBARA WORTH 


hotel. It’s been a long time since most of us have 
seen a real barber and the boys couldn’t wait. Trade 
came with such a rush that he set up his chair in 
the street and has been doing a land-office business 
ever since.. They say he’s all right, too, but it looks 
funny,” 

Mr, Greenfield, his curiosity aroused and being 
really in need of a shave, sought out the shopless 
barber. He was easily found, for the crowed that had 
gathered to witness the arrival of the great financier* 
James Greenfield, had already drifted to the scene 
of Kingston’s other chief attraction. Piled in a 
7acant lot was the necessary furniture for a welL 
equipped shop, but only the chair was in use* A 
goods-box nearby held the instruments of the craft 
while a bucket of water, a tin basin, and a supply of 
towels completed the arrangements. The delighted 
crowd filled the air with good natured chaff and 
laughter as the customers compared notes and 
attempted to express their emotion at finding them 
selves properly groomed, 

Mr. Greenfield, highly amused at the novel sight, 
pushed his way well into the circle. 

“Next!” shouted the man with the brush and 
razors in a voice that was heard a block away. 

Some joker shouted t “Your turn, Mr. Greenfield,” 
&nd “Greenfield! Greenfield!” chimed the crowd. 

Amid yells of delight the president of The King's 
Basin Land and Irrigation Company took his place 
m the chain, 

As the barber worked he talked. Never before in 
all his professional career had he been so prominently 

251 


THE WTOIKG OF BARBARA WORTH 


f® the public eye- “Yes sir,, gents, Fm here to te® 
you that that there man,. Jefferson Worth, is a prince 
—a princeo Let me tell you what he done for me 
You see things was gone all to the bad. Looked like 
svery way 1 turned I went up against it proper, and 
first thing I knowed my furniture was piled out ou 
the sidewalk and Mr* Sheriff he was a-sellin* it 
Well, sir, Mr. Worth he happened to come along juste 
as they begun to ask for bids and I 5 m darned if he 
didn’t take the whole works just as if he had done 
nothin 5 but buy barber shops all his life, I was 
layin 9 low in the crowd, watching you see ; and there 
was somethin 5 about him — the way he stopped and 
bid the stuff in, or somethin 5 , I dunno what — that 
struck me, so I edged alongside and says, says Ic 
*Are you a barber f Whew ! the minute he looked at 
me I seen my mistake, but he never batted a eye. 
*Not yet/ he says. ^This is a pretty good outfit, ain 9 ! 
it? 5 Wou bet it is/ says I. Tt was mine a few 
minutes ago/ Am then I tells him how I was up 
against it an ? asks what he was goin 9 to do with the 
stuffo *Fm goin 9 to ship it to Kingston in The King’g 
Basin country/ says he. *We need a good barber 
down there and I figured that if I got the shop ready 
I could find the man to run ito How would you like 
to tackle the job? 1*11 send you and your outfit to 
Kingston and sell you your shop on good time, too ? 
for just what it cost me. 5 An ? here I am Hext ! w 

Mr. Greenfield slipped from the chair and silently 
tendered the talkative barber a five dollar bill. As 
the barber was counting out the change the eastern 
inancier heard behind him murmurs of hearty ap 

252 


SHE WIOTIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


fftoval and admiration of Jefferson WortE Tim 
barbers story had made a deep impression and cer- 
tainly no one in the crowd was more deeply impressed 
than was the president of The Kingfs Basin Land 
md Irrigation Company, 

At dinner that evening the hoy with the weekly 
edition of the Messenger came into the dining room, 
!Mr. Burk, taking his copy* glanced once at the first 
page* folded it carefully and laid the sheet before 
his employer with the headlines of a leading article 
uppermost. 

Mr, Greenfield reads “The Citizens Bank of 
Kingston— Jefferson Worth owns the building oppo 
site the opera house and has organized a bank. 7 * 

Mr Greenfield did not need to read further 

“Who did you say was building the opera hous€ 
iMock P he asked the Manager. 

“It is owned by a syndicate. The local man m 
charge sits at that table in the comer 5 — he nodded 
toward a clean, solid-looking young fellow* who wag 
enjoying his dinner and chatting with Abe Lee. 

In the lobby* a few minutes later* Greenfield whis 
jeered to Holmes t “Introduce me to that young man, 
Willard.” 

His order was easily obeyed and soon, in a corner, 
the president and bis new acquaintance were chatting 
pleasantly over cigars furnished by the Hew Yorker 

“That building of yours seems to be a very credit 0 
able piece of work*” offered Greenfield. “The invest- 
ment ought to pay big later on. But isn't it rathe® 
iaeavy for the present size of the town?”' 

The other smiled pleasantly, “True; but yoa sas 


253 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


we are not building it for a town of this size, Mr. 
Greenfield. We expect Kingston to grow rapidly and 
we realize tbe importance of being on the ground 
first.” 

“That’s right, too,” returned Greenfield. “With 
the capital to do it that is undoubtedly the right plan,. 
I understand you represent a Coast syndicate.” 

Again the young man smiled. “That is the general 
understanding, Mr. Greenfield, and until to-night I 
have not been at liberty to contradict it. I can tell 
you now, however, that the syndicate which is put- 
ting up that building is Mr. Jefferson Worth.” 

Greenfield was too well-schooled to give vent to the 
slightest expression of surprise. His tone was courtesy 
itself as he replied : “Indeed? Mr. Worth seems to 
be doing a great deal for Kingston.” 

Then the talk shifted easily into other channels 
until the president found opportunity to leave his 
companion,, Rejoining his Manager and Holmes* 
Greenfield requested Burk’s presence in his room 
and, once there, threw aside the mask of politeness^ 
making it clearly evident, in words chosen for force- 
fulness rather than politeness, that he did not approve 
of the utuation that had developed under the 
thoughtful Manager’s eye. 

“And now,” he finished, “send the proprietor of 
this hotel up here.” 

The uncomfortable Burk obeyed. When the land 
lord arrived with an anxious face, Greenfield was 
Ms courteous, affable self again. 

“Mr, Wheeler,” he said, “there is a little business 
proposition I wish to lay before you while I am here 

254 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


and I thought it better to mention it this evening sc 
that you can have time to think it over and give me 
your answer before I leave. I can see, of course, that 
this hotel, building and all, represents quite an 
investment and that, for a time, the returns will not 
be large. I don’t know, of course, how much capital 
you have to swing it, but I can see that without good* 
substantial backing the enterprise might not hold up* 
which would be very bad for the reputation of the 
town in which, as you know, our Company is sc 
heavily interested* Now if we could bring about 
some alliance between you and the Company it would 
be a good thing all around, do you see ?” 

“Yes sir, I see. This is a big undertaking foi 
Kingston as conditions are now, but later it is bound 
to be a good paying investment and we realize the 
importance of getting in on the ground floor. But I 
am not at liberty to consider or make any proposition 
whatever until I have consulted the owner — ” 

“The owner ?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“I was told that you were the proprietor, Youe 
name is on the hotel stationery.” 

“I have only a very small interest. My associate 
would not permit his name to be used at all I maj 
tell you, however, confidentially, that Mr, Worth 
owns the building and practically all the hotel equip 
raent* You can easily place your proposition before 
him. Whatever he does I am bound to accept.” 

James Greenfield chewed his cigar in savage 
silence Clearly it was time that he visited his towm 


THE WINNHSTG OF BARBARA WORTH 


“Do you know where Mr. Worth is this evening?^ 
l hs asked as mildly as he could speak* 

“In his office, I think,” 

“Would you be good enough to send him a message 
that I would like to see him on a matter of import 
tance ? I will wait in my room,” 

“Certainly, sir.” 

When the landlord was gone the president of The 
King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Company walked 
the floor, carefully reviewing his dealings with J effer- 
son Worth from the beginning, So this was what the 
banker had “up his sleeve” when he declined to join 
the Company! 

He was interrupted by the hoy with Mr Worth’s 
answer, Mr* Worth would be in his office at the 
store until ten o’clock 

The eastern capitalist made his way to the little 
room in the store where Jefferson Worth sat at his 
battered old desk, “How do you do ?” 

“Sit down,” came the colorless greeting as the 
western man with one hand closed the door and with 
the other motioned toward the chair at the end of 
the desk* Then seating himself again in his owe 
©hair he waited behind his mask 

“Well, Mr, Worth, I see you decided to come int© 
C&e Basin after all,” 

“I concluded to make a few small investments/ 5 ’ 
mme the exact reply* 

Greenfield laughed shortly* “Yes — this store, the 
electric power plant and system, the bank building 
and bank, the opera house block, the hotel, the tele- 
phone system ” The Company president’s tone 

256 


THE WINDING OF BARBARA WORTH 


and manner were intended to imply that he under- 
stood clearly the other’s attitude and that he recog 
nized a fellow-craftsman. “Come now, Worth; let’s 
get down to good business. It’s poor policy for you 
and me to go against each other. You know what 
there is in it for all of us if we hang together and 
you know as well as I that we can’t afford, and that 
we don’t want, to fight each other. What sort of a 
deal will it take to get you into the Company ? I tell 
you squarely, we are going to make it almighty hot 
for any independent operator who tries to start in 
here.” 

“I must decline to consider any proposition at all 
from the Company, Mr. Greenfield.” 

In the silence that followed Greenfield sought in 
vain to look back of that gray mask. He felt for the 
first time in his business career powerless to make 
the next move in the game and somewhere back in 
his active brain a warning signal flashed : “Go slow !” 

“Very well, Mr, Worth,” he said at last, rising tc 
go. “W 7 hen you are ready to consider the matter let 
me know. In the meantime” — he shrugged hie 
shoulders and smiled — “good night.” 

Outside the store Greenfield paused irresolutely ae 
one hesitates whose mind is too preoccupied to direct 
his steps. Then his eye caught the gleam of light 
from the printing office across the street next to the 
Company building. 

A moment later he greeted the young man whc 
edited and published the Messenger. “You seem tc 
be pretty well fixed here,” offered Greenfield afte? 
the usual greetings. “Seems to me your prospects 

25T 


tee wnnmra of Barbara worth 


mighty good for a young man. Your profit® 
©nght to be big if you can hold on and grow with the 
development of the country.” 

“Yes sir, I feel that our chances are good, Kings- 
ton is growing rapidly and we are in on the ground 
door-” 

Greenfield looked at him sharply as he uttered the 
now familiar expression: “You have all the capital 
you need ?” 

“We are doing very well so far,” 

“I have been looking your paper over with soimj 
Oare,” the president went on, “and I believe you 
have the right idea. A newspaper is a powerful 
factor in a great enterprise like this and of course 
I am anxious that everything that makes for the 
advancement of our project should succeed. I would 
be sorry to see you crippled in any way for lack of 
funds. If you are open to consider the matter I 
should be glad to take a good big interest with yom 
and to undertake to back you handsomely.” 

“I don’t think my partner, who really furnished 
all the capital, would sell, sir.” 

“Ah ! Then you are not alone 9" 

“Ho sir. Mr. Jefferson Worth practically own© 
the plant.” 

The first thing that met Mr. Greenfield’s eye as he 
stepped through the doorway on his return to the 
hotel was the broad back of Horace P. Blanton, who 
— carried away as usual by the importance of the 
occasion — was “orating” to a group of strangers. It 
should be said that, save when the Kingston citizens 
^ere in a certain mood, Horace “orated” usually to 

£58 


fHE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


strangers. In this case so convincing was his logics 
ao eloquent his flights of rhetoric, so irresistible his 
appeals, that Greenfield saw the fat neck of him 9 
where it showed between the fat shoulder and the 
picture-general hat, grow red with the fierceness of 
his eloquence. 

“There is no question in the world, gentlemen, 
(that by long odds the most able financier in the West 
(to-day is my friend, Mr. Jefferson Worth. His start- 
ling genius as a captain of industry is equaled only 
by his splendid public spirit and his magnificent 
generosity to everyone who needs a helping hand. 
Look what he has accomplished for Kingston, while 
only a few of us who were on the inside knew what 
he was doing — our opera house, our bank, our news- 
paper, our telephone lines, our ice plant, and oui 
power plant — which to-morrow night for the first 
time will illuminate the heavens. Think of it ! elec* 
trie lights in the midst of a desert that, since God 
made it, has known only the light of the stars. 1 
maintain, gentlemen, that it is the duty of every soul 
in The King’s Basin to be present at the celebration 
of the splendid accomplishment and in honor to my 
friend, Worth. Hot only has this wizard given us 
In Kingston the blessings of modern civilization, but 
there is scarcely a rancher for miles around whom 
he has not aided materially by furnishing him with 
needed supplies from the big department store, or 
by advancing him necessary capital. I am proud, 
gentlemen — proud, to call such a public benefactor 
my friend. Kingston is proud of her most distin- 
guished citizen; the whole King’s Basin country is 

259 


THE WIKKIKG OF BARBARA WORTH 


proud of him, I — Oh, excuse me a minute, gentle 
men; as I see my friend, Mr. Greenfield, the presi- 
dent of The King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Com 
pany, has just arrived.” 

Greenfield made an effort to escape. He had heard 
quite enough. But it was useless. The white- vested 
bulk of the orator barred the way; the kingly coun- 
tenance of Horace P. Blanton compelled recognition 
“My dear Greenfield, how are you ?” The voice was 
the anxious voice of unmistakable disinterested affec 
tion. “You have arrived at a most auspicious 
moment. I have promised our people that you would 
address them at the public meeting to-morrow even 
ing in the opera house.” 

“It is impossible, Mr. — Ah! Mr, Blanton; I 
never make public speeches,” 

Before Greenfield had finished his curt reply the 
perspiring one had him by the arm in friendly 
familiarity, and with the president’s last word the 
answer came in a low, confidential tone of complete 
understanding. “Of course you understand that I 
have arranged this little affair simply to encourage 
every one to do his part to boom Kingston. It is to 
our interest, you know, to keep things going.” 

Until a late hour the president of The King's 
Basin Land and Irrigation Company, with his Gen 
eral Manager and chief engineer, in the Manager’s 
private office, discussed Jefferson Worth's operations 
and his growing influence in The King’s Basin 
country. James Greenfield had evidently forgotten 
his determination to spend the evening with Willard 
Holmes. 


260 


THE WINDING OE BARBARA WORTH 


It was notable that. the president and his Manager 
did most of the talking. The engineer was, for the 
most part, a silent listener. When appealed to 
directly he answered briefly, giving such information 
as he had at his command, and several times his 
answers caused Greenfield to look at him with ques- 
tioning sharpness. 

Once the older man remarked: “I believe you 
wrote me, Burk, that Worth’s daughter had arrived 
and that they are to make their home in Kingston. 
Is she likely to prove a factor in the matter of her 
father’s popularity and influence ? Sometimes a 
woman, you know ” 

Burk’s cigar shifted to the corner of his mouth 
and his head was cocked to one side. “Ask Holmes,” 
he muttered with a grin. 

“I think you’d better leave Miss Worth out of this, 
Uncle Jim,” said Holmes so sharply that Barbara’s 
name was not mentioned again. Which does not 
mean at all that Greenfield had dismissed the matter 
from his mind. 

“You have that South Central District survey 
ready?” he asked. 

“I believe the boys have it in shape,” answered 
Burk. The engineer laid a map before them, ex- 
plained the boundaries of the proposed district, the 
line of the proposed canal, and on another sheet 
pointed out the character of the land with the eleva= 
tions that made irrigation of the larger part of the 
tract impossible. 

“You can vouch for the correctness of these figures, 
Willard ?” asked Greenfield at last. 


261 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“Certainly, sir* Black is one of the best men w» 
have.” 

“And it is your opinion that it would be a heavj 
loss to the Company to build this canal and attempt 
to develop this section?” 

“I am sure that it would,' sir* The district is prae 
ticallv worthless.” 

“All right, boys ; that will be all for this evening 
We will start on that inspection tour day after 
to-morrow instead of in the morning as T had 
planned. I have a little business with our friend 
Worth to-morrow morning ,* 3 


262 


CHAPTER XVII 

;jAM m GKEENFIELD SEEKS AN ADVAtlMi 

HE next morning Jefferson Worth. in I&k 
office in the store building, again received 
the president of The King’s Basin Land an® 
Irrigation Company, James Greenfield, with out- 
stretched hand, was quite cordial in his greeting. 

“I owe you an apology, sir, I did not know until 
my return to the hotel last night of the demonstration 
to be Held this evening in your honor and m celebra- 
tion f the turning on of our new lights, or I should 
ibave congratulated you sooner, I am glad the people 
of Kingston are recognizing you in this public man- 
ner. Permit me to express my personal appreciation 
also.” 

“Thank you,” said Worth from behind his mask* 
T figure that my interests in Kingston will pan out 
all right some day.” 

Greenfield dropped his complimentary manner anci 
came at once to business* “Look here, Mr. Worth, 1 ! 
have been thinking over the matter I mentioned last 
night. I can see the strength of your position hert 
and I appreciate the value of your operations in the 
development of this country, which mean, of course, 
an added value to the Company’s property and 
interests. We don’t want to fight you; such things 
are bad for all concerned. We would all lose money 
and it would have a bad effect on the whole project 



263 


the wmm~NG of Barbara worth 


If you won’t come in with us, will you consider * 
proposition that you can handle independently V ) 

“What is your proposition ?” 

“It is this. In forming our plans for extending 
the Company’s system we have laid out a new district 
—the South Central. Before placing the water rights 
on the open market, it occurred to me that we might 
make a deal whereby the development of the district 
Would be assured and at the same time we would be 
free to use our forces in still further extensions* As 
you know, the settlers are coming in so rapidly now 
that we meed all our equipment to get the water to 
them at fast as they are located. My proposition is 
this? We will sell you the entire amount of water 
rights covering this South Central District — sixty 
thousand hares — at the lowest figure we can make; 
you to build your own canals and structures. The 
entire district will thus be altogether in your hands 
to handle as you see fit, we, of course, being bound 
only to deliver into your canals the amount of water 
. called for by the regular contract under which the 
rights are sold.” 

“You have already completed the survey anci 
formed the district?” 

“We have. The surveys have just been completed 
We are all ready to go ahead with our work and to 
sell the water.” Greenfield did not say that the Corn* 
pany was ready to go to work on this particular 
district, nor did he say that the stock would be offered 
Jot sale save to Mr. Worth. The president of course 
expected Worth to apply hi3 statement to the par- 
ticular tract of land under consideration and to 


§64 


THE OF BARBARA WORTH 


accept it as establishing beyond question the value of 
the South Central District If Jefferson Worth 
noted the general character of Greenfield’s answer 
lie gave no sign. 

“Where is the land located V 9 

“If you will step over to our office I can show yon 
the maps.” 

When Jefferson Worth saw the boundaries of the 
South Central District showing the course of Dry 
River and the San Felipe trail, for the first time his 
long, tapering fingers, tapping softly the arm of his 
chair, smoothing his gray cheek and caressing his 
chin betrayed emotion. The spot where the San 
Felipe trail crossed Dry River and where the banker 
and his party had found the baby girl was just within 
the boundary of the district. 

Apparently studying the map before him, Bar= 
bara’s father sat motionless save for those nervous 
fingers ; and Greenfield, thinking that the man’s mind 
was intent upon the business under consideration, 
spoke no word. But Jefferson Worth was not think- 
ing of business. He was seeing again a brown-eyed, 
brown-haired baby girl, who shrank back from hie 
outstretched arms as though in fear. 

But that mask-like face betrayed no hint of emo- 
tion, and when the banker spoke again it was to ask 
mechanically i “Where is your engineer ?” 

Greenfield looked inquiringly at Burk. The Man- 
ager touched a button on his desk. To the young 
man who answered the signal the Manager saids 
“Charlie, if Mr. Holmes is in the building pleas® 
ask him to step in here a moment” 


265 


fHE WXOTIHG OF BARBARA WORTEf 


Presently the chief engineer stood before them. An, 
impression of surprise flashed over his bronzed face 
ns he saw Mr. Worth. From the banker his glance 
moved swiftly to Burk and Greenfield, then fell on 
She map before the three men. 

Instantly he saw Greenfield’s purpose. But what 
lid they want of him ? Surely they would not dare 
ask him to make a false statement regarding the 
surveys! He could not interfere; it was not his 
[business. It was the creed of his type that in business 
transactions every man must take care of himself; 
Iktt the Company must not ask him to lie for them. 
As these thoughts went through his mind his form 
straightened and his eyes shot a warning — almost © 
defiant — look at his two superiors, 

Greenfield saw and signaled caution, Burk saw 
und smiled. But none of the three Company men 
sould have told whether Jefferson Worth, who was 
lending over the map, saw or not 

Before the others could speak the banker, without 
Hooking up, said 5 "I just wanted to ask, Mr. Holmes^ 
whether you can tell me about the character of the 
toil in this new district V 9 

“The soil, Mr. Worth, is, I believe, as good as there 
ns in the Basin,” 

The three men awaited the next question with 
breathless interest 

“Thank you, Mr. Holmes. Mr. Greenfield, I will 
consider the proposition,” 

The president and manager could scarcely believe 
$beir ears. The engineer van ished, 

Jefferson Worth continued s “How long haws 

266 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


you planned tc be in the Basin this trip, Mr. Green 
field ?” 

“This week only, I start on my inspection witb 
Mr. Burk and Mr. Holmes in the morning.” 

“I asked because I must go out in the morning fos* 
a few days, and I suppose you wish to close the deal 
Ibefore you leave.” 

“You think favorably of the proposition, then V 9 

“If we can get together on the terms” — Worth 
spoke exactly, as if he wished his words to be remem 
ibered — “I will accept it. Suppose you put youi 
proposition in writing and mail it to me in the city 
to-morrow. Then when I get back we will be in shape 
to finish the matter one way or the other. If every- 
thing is satisfactory and I see I can’t get home before 
you leave I will wire you.” 

Thirty minutes after Jefferson Worth had returned 
to his office, Abe Lee came in. “You sent for me, 
sir ?” 

Abe’s employer arose and closed the door. 

That evening about dusk the surveyor rode out of 
Kingston on the road toward Erontera. And that 
night, while the celebration was in full swing and 
the new electric lights were sputtering and hissing 
in honor of Jefferson Worth, a loaded wagon, drawn 
by four mules, quietly left the rear of the Worth 
store. On the driver’s seat sat Pablo. With littfe 
noise the outfit, with its lone driver, left the town 
in the midst of its demonstration and was soon in the 
open country on the road leading south. 

An hour later they had passed the ranches and 
were in the Desert. Just beyond where a party of 

267 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Jefferson Worth’s linemen, who were stringing tfei 
telephone wires, was encamped, the Mexican halted 
his team and the heavy form of Pat came out of ths 
darkness and climbed with smothered grunts anr 
curses to his side. 

1 Another hour and the,)’ reached the point whert 
the new road crossed the old San Felipe trail. Agais 
Pablo halted his team. Ten — fifteen-— twenty minute? 
they waited in listening silence, save for an occa 
sional grunt from the Irishman. Then from thi 
south came the sound of wheels and horses’ feet 

“Git under way, Pablo,” mumbled Pat. “Ut may 
not be thim, an* Abe will hang yer black hide on the: 
new tiliphone line av anybody goin* to town stops U 
pass ye the time av night.” 

Pablo swung his team to the left and drove slowly 
ahead on the old trail, A hundred yards farther oi 
they were overtaken by Abe Lee and Texas Joe, wlw 
were driving a light spring wagon. 

“Everything all right, boys?” asked the surveyor 
sharply, 

“Si ? Senor/’ and “Yis. Sorr/’ came the answers 

“Good We’ll hit the grit good and hard now for 
we must be in the sand bills by morning.” 

Twenty-four hours after Jefferson Worth lei'? 
Kingston, the east bound overland express came to a 
full stop in the Desert at a point about twenty miles 
west of Rubio City. 

The trainmen and porters ran to the vestibules 
and, throwing open the doors, looked out. Three or 
four passengers who had risen early followed tfe & 
7 mw, inquiring anxiously the reason for the delay 

268 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


The big conductor was standing by the rear steps of 
the Pullman and a medium sized man swung down 
to the ground by his side Back from the track, in 
the gray of the morning, the watchers saw a tiny fire, 
ever which two roughly dressed figures crouched* 
svidentlv preparing breakfast, while a team, with a 
light spring wagon, stood tied to a nearby mesquite 
tree. On every hand the great desert stretched its 
vast dun plain without a sign of life save for the 
train and the men and horse 0 by the lonely fire. 

“Right, sir ?” asked the conductor of the man who 
alighted by his side. 

“All right,” answered the other in a low tone. 

“Good-by, sir.” 

“Good-by.” 

The conductor lifted his hand, and, as the train 
started swung aboard. The watchers saw the man 
walk, without a glance at the departing train, straight 
toward the little group at the fire. 

“Well, what do you make of that?” cried an 
excited tourist as the conductor came up the steps 
into the vestibule and the porter slammed down the 
platform and closed the door. And — “Who is he?” 
“Where is he going ?” “What is he doing ?” came in 
chorus from the others. 

The conductor shook his head with a smile. “Don’t 
ask me. I had orders to stop here to let him off^ 
that’s all I know.” 

Jefferson Worth greeted Abe Lee and Texas Joe 
as coolly as though it was his daily habit to meet 
them at that hour and place. “How is everything* 
Abe?” 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


“Not a hitch so far,” answered the surveyor; and 
Tex drawled: “Coffee and frijoles ready, Mr, 
Worth.” 

“Can we make it to the outfit today?” asked Mr 0 
Worth as they finished their rude meal and prepared 
to start. 

“Easy,” answered Ahe. “We have plenty of water 
with us and this team will do it without turning a 
hair.” 

J ust before sundown at a point on Dry River they 
found Pat and Pahlo with the outfit in a comfortable 
camp. 

While Abe Lee, with his helpers, was running his 
levels over the proposed line of the canal staked out 
by the Company surveyors in the South Central 
District, Willard Holmes was trying to make Mr. 
Greenfield see the necessity of spending more money 
on the unsafe structures and at Dry River heading. 
He explained, argued and pleaded in yain. 

“My dear boy,” said the Company’s president, 
“You must understand that we are not in this country 
for sweet charity’s sake. Burk, here, can tell you that 
we have not yet begun to get our investment hack. 
When the returns justify it we will give you the 
money for your construction work, but we can’t do it 
now. The rights of the men who are putting up the 
capital for this project must he considered, you know. 
We can’t use a dollar of the Company’s money except 
when it is necessary. If I were to let you spend all 
the money you want, we never would pay a divi- 
dend.” 

“But, Uncle Jim, you are forcing these settlers to 

270 


THE WINNING OF BABBAKA WOETfi 

?ake terrible chances blindly. Have the} not rights 
also ? The interest of the Company is mighty small 
compared with the interests of the men who are 
buying the water rights and developing the land.” 

Greenfield flushed angrily. “Look here, Willard* 
fou have nothing to do with the Company’s business 
policy. As the engineer in charge, your work is to 
protect both the settlers and us to the best of yous 
ability, but don’t get any fool notions into your head 
You can’t afford to go the way of that dreamer who; 
started this wor& with the exalted idea of making 
it a benefit to the whole human race. That line of 
talk is all right for the boosters like Horace P. Blam 
ton, but we’ve got to make good in dollars and cents 
or the whole thing goes to smash.” 

With the South Central deal still on his mind and 
the picture of Barbara, as she talked to him of his 
work the morning he had met her in the desert, in 
his heart, these business discussions with Greenfield 
and Burk were almost unbearable to the engineer. 
After they had inspected the intake, the Dry Kiver 
heading and the levees of the main canal he pleaded 
an urgent need of his presence at the office and left 
the party, to reach Kingston two days in advance of 
their return. 

Barbara was on the porch when he stopped at the 
gate, tired, hot and dusty from his long trip. The 
girl, dressed in some cool simple white stuff and 
seated in her easy wicker chair in the deep shade 
of the wide porch, made a picture wonderfully 
attractive to the man who had ridden all day in the 
scorching heat of the desert sun. Of course he must 

271 


THE WmmWG OF BARBARA WORTH 


©ome in. What nonsense to talk of his appearance 
He was not making a fashionable social call. The 
weary engineer dropped into a chair and gratefully 
accepted the glass of cool lemonade she brought. 

“I made it myself not five minutes ago, just as if 
I had known you were coming,” she said with a 
laugh that was as refreshing as the drink itself 
“Ynez is up town shopping for supper. Father is in 
the city. Abe has gone away somewhere. Even 
Pablo has vanished and I haven’t seen Texas Joe 
nor Pat for a week. I was wishing someone would 
happen along. I suppose that’s really why I made 
the lemonade.” 

Holmes set his glass carefully on the porch railing 
near at hand. 

“ Won’t you have some more ?” 

“Thank you, no. You are quite deserted, aren’t 
you ? How long has Lee been gone ?” 

“Oh, he went the evening before father left and 
Pablo vanished the same night. It was quite tragic, 
and the next day I was in the office when a man from 
the line came in asking for Pat. He seems to have 
disappeared the same way. I think they might at 
least have left some word or said good-by.” 

In her innocent talk Barbara had told the whole 
story. It was easy for the Company engineer to 
guess where the surveyor and his helpers had gone 
and what they were doing. “Are you sure that youi 
father is in the city?” he asked jokingly. 

Barbara laughed. “Oh, there’s no doubt about 
father. His departure was regular in every way.” 

On his way to the office a little later Holmes 

272 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


chuckled to himself, keenly enjoying the situation. 
He mentally pictured the chagrin of Greenfield and 
Burk when he should tell them what he had learned. 
But would he tell them ? He had not told Mr. Worth 
what he knew of the Company’s survey in the South 
Central District. Why should he tell the Company 
what he knew of Worth’s surveyors ? Once he would 
have considered that loyalty to his employers 
demanded that he tell what he had learned. But 
now, since he had been assured so very emphatically 
and very recently that the policy of the Company 
was none of his business, let the shrewd Manager 
and the president find out for themselves. Anyway, 
he told himself, it could make no difference, for he 
knew what the result of Abe’s surveys would be and 
he was glad indeed that Barbara’s father had not 
walked into the trap set for him. The engineer had 
concerned himself not a little about the probable view 
Barbara would take of his attitude in permitting her 
father to purchase water rights that he knew to be 
worthless. But now Mr. Worth himself would dis- 
cover the tvick of the Company men and it would not 
matter. 

To his surprise and chagrin Jefferson Worth 
walked into the Company office a few days later and, 
in his exact colorless voice, said : “I will accept your 
proposition Mr. Greenfield. If you wish we can fix 
up the contract and close the deal to-day.” 


273 


CHAPTER XVIII, 

THE GAME PROGRESSES 



| HE purchase of the South Central District- 
water rights by Jefferson Worth was imme- 
diately announced by The King’s Basin Mes= 
senger in a lengthy article which began with the 
modest statement that this was the largest and most 
important business transaction that had yet occurred 
in the new country. The article declared that the 
name of Jefferson Worth was a guarantee that the 
new district would be made the richest and most pros- 
perous section of the Basin and that — splendid as the 
undertaking was — it was only the beginning of far 
greater things to be wrought by the wizard of the 
desert whose genius had made him the greatest factor 
in the reclamation and development of The King’s 
Basin country. The work would be begun at once— 
as soon as men and teams could be secured. 

The thoughtful Manager of The King’s Basin 
Land and Irrigation Company read the article with 
a grin, shifted his cigar to the corner of his mouth, 
cocked his head to one side and sent a marked copy 
of the paper to the Company’s president. 

James Greenfield read the article with the satis^ 
faction of a good business man who sees his com 
petitor heavily over-stocked with a line of goods for 
winch there is no market. The pioneers in the desert, 

274 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

who were not already located, and the newly arriving 
prospectors read and called upon Mr. Worth for 
further information. The article, reprinted in the 
Rubio City papers, was read by many who, familiar 
with Jefferson Worth’s business record, took the San 
Felipe trail for the new district. 

The main supply camp for the new work was 
established at Dry River Crossing, the location being 
ideal, with an abundant supply of running water 
from the waste gate at the heading coming down the 
old channel where Barbara’s mother had perished of 
thirst beside a dry water hole. From the camp, the 
San Felipe trail led in one direction straight to Rubio 
City and in the other to the main road in the heart 
of the Basin half way between Kingston and 
Frontera. At this camp Jefferson Worth made his 
headquarters. Not a man, whether he presented 
himself empty-handed or with team and tools, but 
was forced to talk with Mr. Worth in his tent office 
before he was set to work under Abe Lee and his 
three lieutenants — Texas, Pat and Pablo. 

It was in those days that Willard Holmes reported 
to the Manager that many of his men were leaving 
the Company and were going to work for Jefferson 
Worth. The news did not appear to alarm Mr. Burk 
With a grin he advised the engineer, “Don’t worry p 
old man. They’ll be damned glad to come back to us 
before many weeks.” 

“I was looking out a route for the new central 
main yesterday,” said Holmes, “and rode over to 
Worth’s camp at the Crossing. Judging from the 
size and activity of the camp, he is planning to go 

275 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


in good and strong. He must have a big force at 
work now and he is taking on men all the time.” 

“Your Uncle Jim will he delighted to hear of 
Friend Jefferson’s enterprise.” 

The engineer’s face did not express appreciation 
of the Manager’s wit. “Have you heard the proposi- 
tion that Mr. Worth is making to every man on the 
job?” he asked. 

“Ho, what is he doing? Giving away one hun- 
dred and sixty shares of stock with free telephones 
and electric lights, passes at the opera house, unlim- 
ited credit at the store and a deposit at the bank as 
a bonus to anyone who will locate in his district ? 
He seems to have all kinds of money to throw away/” 

“It’s not quite so bad as that,” answered the other 
with a smile. “But he tells every man, when he 
hires him, to file on any claim in the district that he 
wants and he can have the water rights for it without 
any cash payment and without any interest for five 
years. In a good many cases he is even advancing 
money to pay the government entry fee and promis- 
ing to carry them for their equipment and supplies 
until they make a crop. But he makes them agree 
to stay on the land and actually farm the claims. He 
won’t let a speculator even look in.” 

Mr. Burk expressed his opinion of Jefferson 
Worth’s ability in the strongest terms. The man was 
insane, childish! Those fellows would leave him 
high and dry. 

“That’s what I said at first,” agreed Holmes. “1 
asked Bill Watson, who quit us with his team at 
Humber Five to go to work in the South Central, if 

276 


THE WIPING OF BARBARA WOKTB 


he actually thought Worth was going to let his me5 
make all the money.” 

“What did Bill say?” 

Holmes smiled. “You know how Bill talks ? ‘Hell 
no,’ he said. ‘I put it to the old man just that way 
myself. I says, say I: ‘That sounds good all right 
Mr. Worth; but it ain’t reasonable that you’re leavin 
yourself out of this deal. Where do you come in? 
says I. ‘Who’s the joker in this little game ?’ ” 

“And Worth explained?” put in Burk eagerly 
shaken out of his usual thoughtful calm by Holmes’^ 
story. 

“Bill says that Mr. Worth told him that he owns, 
a big tract of land where the camp is located and 
that he is going to build a town there and would 
make his money by the increased value of his prop 
erty that would result from the development of the 
district; by business enterprises that would depend 
on the prosperity of the ranchers; and by the large 
increase in the value of water rights that he would 
sell later to those who came in to invest after the 
district was developed. I suggested to Bill that he 
could see how Worth was simply using him to gain 
his own ends.” 

“And did Bill see the point?” 

“He said : ‘You’re damned right he is, and so am 
I usin’ Jefferson Worth to gain my ends, ain’t If 
I might work for the Company a hundred years and 
never get a cent more than the wages that you’re 
payin’ now. Jefferson Worth, he pays me the same 
wages and gives me a chance to get my share of all 
that comes out of what I do. I don’t care a damn if 


277 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

lie makes ten millions out of the country. I hope he 
will, because he is giving us poor devils, who ain’t 
got nothin’ now, a chance to get a ranch an’ do some- 
thin’ for ourselves. Of course he uses us to make 
money for himself. So does the Company use us, 
don’t they? The difference is that Jefferson Worth 
lets us use him and the Company just counts us in 
with the rest of the live stock.’ ” 

“How did you get around that?” asked Burk, 
studying his companion’s face. 

“I didn’t get around it,” answered the engineer 
dryly. 

Burk leaned back in his chair and spoke with 
unusual earnestness. “Bill is right, Holmes. We 
consider the men who work for us as we consider 
horses and mules. We feed the stock; we pay wages 
to the men. When an animal is worn out and use- 
less, we kill him and get another. When a man is 
down and out, we fire him and hire another, and you 
and I are no better. The Company looks on us 
exactly the same way. We have no more real interest 
in this work than the skinniest old plug on the job 
and the Company won’t permit us to have. They 
think they couldn’t afford it — that it wouldn’t be 
Good Business. ‘Get up!’ ‘Whoa!’ ‘Back!’ ‘Move, 
damn you! and here’s your corn and hay.’ That’s 
all we have to do with it. If you balk and kick, out 
you go to rustle your own feed. It’s a beautiful 
system — for the Company. I almost wish that Worth 
had a chance to try out his scheme. It would at least 
be an interesting experiment to watch.” 


2Y8 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


"‘Well, why hasn’t he a chance to try it out ?” 

“You know very well why. Because the deal that 
four talented uncle fixed up for our friend Jeff was 
^loaded for the express purpose of blowing that 
philanthropic promoter into financial Kingdom-come* 
Didn’t you report that the development of that South 
Dentral District was practically impossible because 
i>f the elevations ?” 

“Yes.” 

“Well, ordinarily the project would have been 
abandoned then and there. But I suggested to Mr* 
Greenfield that we go ahead as if everything was all 
dght and then unload it on Worth so that he would 
smash himself, as he is doing.” 

“You should be proud of your scheme.” 

“I am proud of the scheme, but I’m not proud of 
myself. I’m being a good mule, that’s all. Jefferson 
Worth took our apparent purpose to go ahead with 
the work as evidence that the proposition was all 
right and that’s why Jefferson Worth will not finish 
his intended experiment.” 

“Yes, but the fact is he did not accept the propo- 
sition without investigation.” 

“What?” 

The engineer told the Manager what he had 
learned from Barbara. Burk whistled softly. “Then 
you think the old fox sent Abe Lee out to check our 
survey and framed up his trip to the city to gain 

$ime? Well, I’ll be But look here, Holmes, 

Worth didn’t accept our proposition until after he 
Ikad investigated?” 


279 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“No.” 

“Well ; who make? the mistake then, your mam 
Black or Abe Lee ?” 

“That’s exactly what I’d like to know,” said the 
Company’s chief engineer grimly. 

The Manager grinned as he saw the possibilities 
of the situation, then thoughtfully he selected a cigar f 
“Pretty game, isn’t it, old man,” he said and offered 
the box to Holmes who declined. 

When the weed was going well the Manager’s head 
tipped toward his left shoulder and his cigar was in 
the opposite corner of his mouth. “And you knew 
what Worth was up to before the deal was closed! 
Why didn’t you report it, Holmes ?” 

The engineer frowned. “I didn’t tell Mr. Worth 
what Black’s survey showed, and you must remember 
that Uncle Jim rubbed it into me good and hard on 
the question of the construction work that the policy 
of the Company was none of my business. This deal 
was not in my department.” 

“Dear me,” murmured the Manager with another 
grin. “What a well-broken Company mule it isc 
And you were so dead sure of your man Black 
Which would you rather, my boy, have Black right 
and Abe wrong — the Company to win ; or have Black 
wrong and Abe right — and Jefferson Worth free to 
go on with his little experiment ?” 

“Speak for yourself,” growled Holmes. 

“I will,” returned Burk. “I have been a good 
mule, so my conscience is clear. If I knew how and 
thought it would do any good I would pray that Abe 
Lee made no mistake.” 


280 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“Well, I won’t believe that it’s Black’s mistakeo 
He comes from too good a school,” Holmes replied 
stubbornly. 

“And your confidence in your man is no doubt 
equaled by Worth’s confidence in his. Interesting^ 
isn’t it?” 

“You go to thunder !” growled the engineer unable 
to stand more. The Manager’s mocking laugh fol 
lowed him out of the room. 

As the engineer passed the open window of the 
office a moment later Burk called to him softly : “Oh, 
Holmes ; I have an idea that may be helpful to yon 
in the matter.” 

Against his will the engineer paused and drew 
slose to the window. “Well ?” 

“Why don’t you call on Miss Worth ? Perhaps — ” 

But Willard Holmes fled. And yet that which 
Burk suggested in jest was exactly what Willard 
Holmes had already determined in his own mind 
to do. 

The engineer had not seen Barbara since the con 
elusion of the South Central deal and he was con- 
tinually asking himself how the girl would look upon 
his part in that transaction, or rather his failure to 
take a part in it. Barbara’s frank confession, when 
she had asked him to forgive her for blaming him 
because of the Seer’s dismissal that they might start 
square, had put their friendship upon such a ground 
that the man felt guilty in not confessing at once 
to her how he had aided Greenfield and Burk in their 
effort to trap her father. He could not shake off the 
conviction that she would undoubtedly look upon his 


281 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


attitude as being what she had called untrue to the 
work — the one thing she had declared she could not 
forgive. Would she forgive him ? She had been so 
interested in his work, and the engineer was begin- 
ning to realize how very much this meant to him. 

At the Worth home the engineer learned from the 
Indian woman that Barbara had left Kingston that 
morning to visit her father in his camp in the South 
Central District. She had gone with Texas Joe in 
the buckboard and they had taken her saddle horse. 
El Capitan. 

When would La Senorita return? 5Tnez did no# 
know. 


CHAPTER XIX, 

FATHERED AT BARBARA S COURT 


ARBARA’S trip to the South Central Dis 
trict was full of interest. Riding with 
Texas Joe in a light huckboard drawn by & 
span of lively broncos with El Capitan leading 
behind, she was as merry as a school-girl out for a 
long-talked-of holiday. The dark-faced old plains 
man, whose iron will and marvelous endurance had 
brought his companions and the baby safely out of 
that land of death years before, turned often to look 
at her now while his keen eyes, dark still under theii 
grizzly brows, were soft with fond regard, and hk 
voice, gentle and drawling as ever, was filled with 
tender affection. Under his drooping gray mustache, 
black once, his slow smile came in the ready answer 
of full sympathy with her mood. 

Eager as ever to know all about the work of 
reclaiming her Desert, the young woman plied him 
with questions and Texas exerted himself to recall 
scenes and incidents of which he had not told her 
before. He reviewed the work from that first survey 
to the present with vivid pictures of life in the camps,, 
in the towns, or on the trail, with construction gangs 
and grading crews or freighters’ outfits, and the 
glimpses of toil and hardship, discomforts and suffer^ 
mg lost none of their reality in the dry humor of 

283 



THE WINDING OE BARBARA WORTH 


Ms words. Texas Joe was of that sort who habitually 
laugh at hardships, who, indeed, could not otherwise 
live in the wild lands they helped to tame. Hor did 
the shrewd old frontiersman fail to observe how most 
of Barbara’s questions required in their answers 
something touching Willard Holmes, or how the inci- 
dents that pleased her most were those in which the 
engineer figured. On her part the young woman was 
secretly delighted to see how loyally her companion 
spoke in admiring praise of the desert-bred surveyor, 
Abe Lee. Whenever the name of Holmes was men- 
tioned, Abe was somehow brought into the story. 

“Mr. Holmes is really a fine engineer, don’t you 
think?” asked Barbara mischievously at the conclu- 
sion of a story in which both Holmes and Abe 
figured. 

“Sure he is. I don’t reckon them eastern schools 
ever turned out a better. And what counts more, 
sometimes, he’s all man, he is. But you see, honey, 
he belongs to the Company. Abe now, wal — you see, 
Abe, he sabeys the country like a burro does the cook 
shack and he’s just as good a man as the Easterner, 
though not so pretty to look at. And you can bet 
there don’t no Company get a hobble on Abe.” 

“Do the men who work for the Company like Mr, 
Holmes ?” 

“Sure they do. All the men like Holmes fine. But 
they just naturally love Abe.” 

But when they had turned into the San Felipe 
trail and were traveling eastward, Barbara ceased to 
question Texas about the reclamation work and led 
him to tell her again the familiar story of his journey 

284 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


from San Felipe with Mr. Worth, the Seer, Pat and 
the boy Abe, in the days when that old road was the 
only mark of man in all those miles of desolate waste. 

Reaching a point where the sand hills could be 
distinguished, he pointed them out to her, and the 
young woman, at sight of the huge rolling drifts 
that shone all golden in the desert sun, grasped his 
arm with a low exclamation. In silence, as they 
drew nearer, they watched the low yellow hills lift 
their naked bulk up from the gray and green patches 
of salt-bush and greasewood that so thinly carpeted 
the plain. When even the desert vegetation could find 
no life in the ever shifting sands and the first of the 
great drifts loomed huge and forbidding against the 
sky, seeming to bar their way, Barbara spoke again, 
^35Tow tell me, Uncle Tex ; tell me as we go just how 
It was and show me the places.” 

The plainsman did not answer and she urged 
again: “Please, Uncle Tex, tell me. I want to see 
it all just as it happened. I feel that I must, don’t 
you understand ?” 

So the old plainsman told her and pointed out the 
places as nearly as he could, explaining how the drifts 
moved always eastward under the winds; how at 
times, most frequently in the spring months, when 
the fierce gales swept down through the Pass and 
across the Basin, the huge billows of sand would roll 
forward so swiftly that tents or wagons in their path 
would be buried in a few hours, and how, in the calm 
seasons, with every light breeze they work their silent 
way inch by inch. Even as he spoke Barbara, look 
Ing, saw a thin film of sand, fine as powdered snow 


285 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


stir! like mist over the edge of a drift as a breath of 
air swept lightly up the western slope and over the 
summit of the hill. 

At the point where Mr. Worth’s party had camped 
to await the passing of the storm, Texas stopped the 
team and showed her how they had rigged their rude 
canvas shelter on one side of the wagon to protect 
themselves from the cutting blast. Farther on he 
pointed out the spot where they had found the horse 
with the broken halter strap, and then they came tc 
the great drift where her people had made their last 
camp and where, later, Jefferson Worth had spent 
that night alone with the spirit that lives in Ls 
Palma de la Mano de Dios. 

Again Texas halted his team, and Barbara, leav 
ing her companion in the buckboard, climbed to the 
top of the hill that held buried deep in its heart— 
what? Was the body of her true father buried 
there ? Were there brothers, sisters, lying under that 
huge mound ? Could the sands, if they could speak 
tell her who she was, her name and people? Could 
they, if they would, make known to her relatives and 
friends of her own blood ? 

Coming slowly down the shoulder of the drift she 
went around to the foot of the steep eastern side and 
there, in the lee of the billow that curled high above 
her, she tried to dig with her hands a tiny hole. At 
every movement that displaced a handful of sand, a 
dry golden flood poured down from above, covering 
instantly the mark she had made. With sudden 
energy the young woman exerted all her strength, 
digging faster and faster. But still, from above he? 


286 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


head, down the steep side of the drift the sand slid 
without effort, making a faint whispering sound as 
if to mock her labors. Then Texas called and she 
went back to him, her brown eyes hard and dry. 

The old plainsman, quick to feel her mood, would 
have driven swiftly on past the remaining scenes of 
the tragedy and tried to talk of other things. But she 
would not have it so. She must know all. So he 
showed her where he had first found the tracks in the 
sand and then where the baby feet had left their 
marks when the tired mother had set her down to 
rest 

Thus they came at last, when the day was almost 
gone, to the grave beside the trail — the trail that 
had beside its many miles so many graves. And 
Barbara stood before the simple headstone that bore 
only the date and one word “Mother.” And the 
silent man, who had in his wild adventurous life 
witnessed so many scenes of death, turned away his 
face that he might not see the girl kneeling beside 
the mound of earth. 

When Barbara, coming back to the buckboard, saw 
him so, she understood; and when Texas, hearing 
her light steps, turned quickly toward her he saw 
the brown eyes filled now with softening tears while 
her face expressed the gratitude she could not put 
into words. 

Behind them the upper rim of the sun shone 
blood-red above the top of the purple mountain wall ; 
over their heads in the soft still depths of the velvet 
sky an early star appeared. Around them on every 
side the great desert lay under its seas of soft 

287 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

color, its veils of misty light and streaming scarfs 
of lilac and rose. Even as they looked the dusk of 
twilight fell upon the great plain. The ground-owl’s 
weird call came from a hummock near the trail, the 
ghostly form of a coyote slipped stealthily past like 
a shadow moving from shadow to shadow until he 
was lost in the deeper shade, out of which, as if 
in mocking challenge of a spirit band to any mortal 
who would follow, came the wild, snarling, unearthly 
cries of his invisible mates. And still to the east- 
ward the higher levels of the Mesa above the rim of 
the dark Basin, the slow drifting clouds of dust that 
lifted from the tired feet of the grading teams coming 
into the camp from the day’s work on the canals, or 
from freighters drawing near their journey’s end, 
caught the last of the light and showed long level 
bands and bars and threads of gold against the deep 
purple of the hills beyond, whose peaks and domes 
and ridges were flaming crimson, burnished copper 
and gleaming silver on the deep background of the 
sky. Before them on the other side of the deep Dry 
River channel, through which now a generous stream 
of water flowed, they could see the tents of the camp 
- — some glowing brightly from lights within, others 
showing mere spots of dull white in the gloom, while 
here and there lanterns, like great fireflies, flitted 
aimlessly to and fro. 

Before two tent houses, some distance apart from 
the main camp and built under a wide ramada made 
of willow poles and arrow weed brought from the 
distant river, Texas stopped his team. From the 
open door of one of the tents Jefferson Worth cam^ 

288 


THE WINDING OF BARBARA WORTH 


quickly, at the sound of their arrival, to receive his 
daughter, and from her father’s arms Barbara turned 
to greet Abe Lee who, following his chief from the 
canvas house, had paused a little back from the 
group in the shadow of the ramada. Later in the 
evening, when Barbara had had her supper with her 
father and Abe in the big camp dining tent and the 
three were sitting in the dark under the wide brush 
porch, Pat came with Texas, as the big Irishman 
said, “to see how the new boss liked her quarters.” 
And then Pablo came softly out of the darkness with 
his guitar to bid La Senorita welcome and to ask if 
she would care that night to listen a little to the 
music that he knew she loved. 

So Barbara held her little court before the rude 
tent house under the arrow weed ramada, in the heart 
of her Desert, within a stone’s throw of the spot 
where they had gathered once before around a baby 
girl whose mother lay dead beside a dry water hole. 
And not one of them thought of the significance of 
the group or how each, representing a distinct type, 
stood for a vital element in tha combination of human 
forces that was working out for the race the reclama- 
tion of the land. The tall, lean, desert-born surveyor, 
trained in no school but the school of his work itself, 
with the dreams of the Seer ruling him in his every 
professional service; the heavy-fisted, quick-witted, 
aggressive Irishman, born and trained to handle that 
class of men that will recognize in their labor no 
governing force higher than the physical; the dark- 
faced frontiersman, whom the forces of nature, 
through the hard years, had fashioned for his 

289 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


peculiar place in this movement of the race as trulj 
as wave and river and wind and sun had made The 
King’s Basin Desert itself; the self-hidden financiei 
who, behind his gray mask, wrought with the mighty 
force of his age — Capital; and a little to one side, 
sitting on the ground, reclining against one of the 
willow posts that upheld the arrow weed shelter, dark 
Pablo, softly touching his guitar, representing a 
people still far down on the ladder of the world’s 
upward climb, but still sharing, as all peoples would 
share, the work of all ; and, in the midst of the group, 
the center of her court — Barbara, true representative 
of a true womanhood that holds in itself the future 
of the race, even as the desert held in its earth womb 
life for the strong ones whom the slow years had 
fitted to realize it. 

“Faith,” said Pat, when Pablo’s guitar was silent 
for a little, “av only the Seer was here the family 
wud be altogether complete.” 

“Dear old Seer,” said Barbara softly. “How he 
would love to be here; and how we would love to 
have him !” 

But under cover of the darkness a warm blush 
colored the young woman’s cheeks, for when Pat 
spoke she had not been thinking of the absence of 
her old friend, but wishing for the presence of am 
other engineer, who also was working for the reclama- 
tion of her Desert and who was himself in turn being 
wrought upon by his work, learning as the girl had 
hoped he would learn, the language of the land. 

Jefferson Worth spoke iii his exact way. “Even if 
foe is not here this is all the Seer’s work.” 


290 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


And just then from a distance up the old wash 
3ame the weird, unnatural cry of a coyote. It was 
as though the spirit of the desert spoke in answer to 
the banker’s words. 

“Yell, ye sneakin’, thievin’ imp. Yer time in 
this counthry is about up!” exclaimed the Irishman 
with a growl of deep satisfaction. And again out of 
the shadow the soft, plaintively sweet music of 
Pablo’s guitar floated away on the still darkness of 
ha night 


CHAPTER XX, 


WHAT THE STAKES REVEALED 

AMES GREENFIELD, returning to Kings- 
ton from his tour of inspection, left at once 
for his own world — a world of offices with 
mahogany furniture, of men with white collars and 
pale faces, of banks and trust companies, and Good 
Business. 

The afternoon of the day he left, Willard Holmes 
rode into the camp at Dry River Crossing. The 
engineer explained that he was looking over the 
route of a new main canal that was being surveyed 
by his men and that, finding himself in the vicinity 
of Mr. Worth’s headquarters, he had taken the oppor 
tunity to call. 

From Barbara as well as from Jefferson Worth 
and Abe Lee the Company man received a hearty 
welcome with a cordial invitation to ride with them 
the next day over the line of their work. Although 
Holmes watched with peculiar sensitiveness, there 
was no sign from either of the three that they had 
yet discovered the real significance of the South 
Central deal or that they knew the part he had 
played in it. His desire to end the whole unpleasant 
situation by going over the work with Mr. Worth 
and the surveyor, and by confessing to Barbara how 
he had permitted her fathe: to walk into the trap, led 
him to accept the invitation. 




THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


The little party left camp early the next morning 
5»nd following the line of Black’s survey found a 
mile or more of the canal already completed, while 
a large force of men and teams was at work clearing 
the ground and pushing the big ditch still farther in 
a general southerly direction toward the Company 
canal fifteen miles away. 

Abe Lee explained to Barbara that other camps 
were located at points farther on, thus dividing the 
whole district to be excavated into several sections, 
“You see,” he said turning to Holmes, “the waste 
from Dry River Heading coming down the old chan- 
nel gives us water at several points so that we can 
handle this work to a little better advantage than we 
used to do with the first of the Company canals.” 

“I see,” said the Company man. “And how many 
head of stock are you working?” 

“About fifteen hundred now, but we are increasing 
the force right along. We expect to handle about 
twice that.” 

Instantly Willard Holmes saw that he could, still 
save Jefferson Worth from heavy financial loss. But 
it was to the interest of The King’s Basin Land and 
Irrigation Company for Jefferson Worth to lose ' 
heavily. What should he do ? 

They had left the first section of the work now 
and were following the line of the survey where 
the brush had been roughly cleared. The engineer 
preoccupied in his struggle with the question that 
confronted him, had dropped behind the others, when 
suddenly Barbara, looking back, checked El Capitam, 
“What’s the matter, Mr. Holmes ?” she called. 


293 


THE WINNING OF BARBABA WORTH 


The others also looked back to see the engineer 
kneeling on the ground. Jefferson Worth glanced 
quickly at his superintendent who chuckled outright* 

“What is it?” cried Barbara at Abe’s unusual 
laugh. “What’s the joke?” 

Before either of the men could answer, Holmes 
sprang to his saddle and, with a quick jab of his 
spurs in the horse’s flanks, rejoined them on the run* 
In his excitement the mental habits of his life as- 
serted themselves and he was again the typical cor- 
poration official dealing with a mere private indi- 
vidual operating on a small scale. “Look here !” he 
burst forth sharply to Abe ; “these are not our Com- 
pany stakes. You are not following Black’s line.” 

The surveyor grinned. “We followed it for & 
half mile this side of the cut, then we branched off 
You evidently did not notice.” 

“Where do you strike it again ?” 

“We don’t strike it again.” 

“Then how do you get to the intake location ?” 

“We don’t get to the intake you located at all. We 
strike your canal three miles farther up.” 

The Company’s chief engineer retorted hotly % 
“But you can’t do that. Our survey shows” — he 
stopped. 

“Your survey shows what ?” came Abe Lee’s sharp 
challenge. “You are undoubtedly familiar with the 
data turned in by your man Black, for you told Mr* 
Worth the quality of the soil before he closed the 
deal. What else does your survey show?” 

Before the engineer could answer, Jefferson 
Worth’s cool voice broke in. “You understand, Mr 


294 


THE WINHIHG OF BARBAEA WORTH 


Holmes, that there is nothing in my contract with 
your Company that binds me to follow the line of 
your survey or accept your location of the intake. 
The Company contracts to deliver the water into my 
canal, that is all.” 

The engineer regained control of himself. “I beg 
your pardon, Mr. Worth; and yours, Lee. I forgot 
myself. I see that my man Black made a mistake.” 

Abe laughed dryly. “In checking over Black’s 
work, Holmes, I found his elevations correct at every 
point.” 

Holmes himself smiled as he said: “Well, Lea 
whether you believe me or not, I am very glad you 
checked over Black’s work, and, Mr. Worth, with all 
my heart I wish you success in your project.” 

“Thank you,” said Worth, “I am already indebted 
to you for a valuable piece of information.” 

“Indebted to me ?” 

“You remember what I asked you when I was 
going over this proposition with Greenfield and Burk 
in the Company office ?” 

“I remember that you asked me about the soil in 
the district.” 

“You answered that the soil was all right.” 

Holmes drew a long breath. “And you let Uncle 
Jim and Burk think ” 

“I let them think what they wanted to think,” 
said Jefferson Worth. 

Barbara, who had listened with intense interest to 
the conversation, at Holmes’s unfinished remark and 
her father’s reply moved El Capitan slowly away 
from his place beside Worth’s horse and went close 


295 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


to Abe Lee. All the gladness was gone from the 
young woman’s face now, and while she maintained 
a show of interest it was plainly forced. 

The hanker, at his daughter’s movement, retreated 
behind his gray mask and for the rest of the trip 
spoke only when it was necessary, leaving her entirely 
to the surveyor and Willard Ipblmes. 

Barbara had understood from the talk of the men 
that her father, by using the unsuspecting engineer, 
had in some way shrewdly gained a business advan- 
tage over the Company. The incident forced her, as 
she thought, to see with a cruel clearness that to 
Jefferson Worth this splendid work of reclaiming the 
desert was nothing but the opportunity to win larger 
financial gains ; that he was still practicing the tactics 
for which he was famous. She shrank from him 
unconsciously but to the man as plainly as she had 
drawn back in fear that night years before. As the 
baby had turned from him to the Seer then, the 
young woman turned from him to Abe Lee now. 

During the rest of the day Barbara kept so close 
to the surveyor’s side that Willard Holmes had no 
opportunity to talk with her alone, and when they 
arrived again at the headquarters camp the engineer, 
promising to call upon her soon in Kingston, left for 
one of his own camps a few miles away. 

That evening Jefferson Worth and his daughter 
sat alone under the arrow weed ramada facing the 
river. Moving her camp chair closer in the dusk — sc 
close that, reaching out she laid her warm young 
hand on the hand of her father — Barbara said in & 


296 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


low tone: “Daddy, I wish you would tell me all 
about this South Central District business.” 

She felt the slim nervous fingers move uneasily c 
Never before had Barbara asked him to explain any 
of his transactions. The man’s habit of retiring 
behind that gray mask whenever the subject of his 
business was mentioned, together with the girl’s in- 
stinctive shrinking lest his answers to such a question 
should drive them farther apart, prevented. But 
to-night, perhaps because Willard Holmes was con- 
cerned. perhaps because of her peculiar interest in 
the work involved, Barbara forced herself to ask. 

“What do you want to know?” 

At his expressionless tone it was to Barbara as 
though she felt the chill of his cold mask coming 
between them, but she persisted and in her voice 
was passionate earnestness. “I wa^t to know all 
about it, father; I must.” 

“Why?” 

“Because” — she hesitated. “Because I understood 
from the conversation to-day about the surveys that 
someone had made a mistake. I — I don’t want to 
make a mistake, daddy. Won’t you please explain 
it all to me ? What was it that you let Mr. Greenfield 
and Mr. Burk think ?” 

Perhaps because of the memories of the place, or 
because it was the first time Barbara had ever sought 
an explanation, or again perhaps it was because Wil- 
lard Holmes was interested, Jefferson Worth 
answered : “I let them think I was a fool.” 

“But why was Mr. Holmes so excited to-day whem 
he found out about those stakes ?” 


297 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“He discovered that I was not such a fool as thej 
thought.” 

Then Jefferson Worth explained to the girl the 
whole situation. He made clear Greenfield’s reason 
for offering him the water rights ; why he would have 
taken the stock without investigation but for the 
hint he received from the Company engineer’s man- 
ner and the way Holmes had answered that simple 
question about the soil ; how he had made the survey 
secretly, because Greenfield would have refused to 
close the deal if he had known that Worth wanted 
it after he had it investigated, and because if Green- 
field believed the district stock to be valueless he 
would sell at a very low figure rather than not sell at 
all ; and how it was that same low figure that enabled 
him to give the men who were working on the canal 
a chance to acquire farms of their own. 

When he had made it all plain, the young woman 
exclaimed: “And this man Greenfield and those 
with him in the Company are the men who are doing 
the Seer’s work; who are making the reclamation of 
the desert possible ! I don’t — I can’t understand it.” 

“It is a very simple business deal,” said Worth, 
“There is nothing unusual about it. Greenfield and 
his men are good men; they are simply defending 
their interests from a competitor. This Desert never 
could be reclaimed at all without them or others like 
them.” 

“Tell me again, daddy ; was Mr. Holmes sure that 
this land was worthless?” 

“Certainly he was sure of it. He had all of Black’t 
data giving the elevations.” 


298 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“And lie knew that they were trying to sell it to 
you ?” 

“Yes.” 

“But did he know why f Did he know it was a 
trap to ruin your work ?” 

“Certainly, he must have known.” 

The girTs voice trembled. “Oh, why — why didn’- 
he tell you ? Why didn’t he warn you ?” 

“He did.” 

“Yes, daddy, hut he did not intend to do it, for 
to-day he did not know that he had until you ex- 
plained. And I thought — I thought ” Her 

voice ended in a sob. 

“But Barbara, Holmes did just what he should 
have done. He is in the employ of the Comp any . 
He had no right to interfere with their business.” 

“Every man has a right to be a man,” she answered 
hotly. “Abe wouldn’t have kept still. The Seer 
would not have helped them in their schemes. I 
don’t wonder that the Company discharged the Seer 
to give Mr. Holmes his place !” 

Jefferson Worth was silent for a little, then he 
said: “If I had thought that you would blame 
Holmes I never would have told you.” 

“But you did right to tell me. I am glad, for I 
see now that I was making a mistake — that I was 
making two mistakes. I misjudged you, daddy — 
forgive me ; and I — I have been mistaken about Mr. 
Holmes.” 

For an hour or more the two sat silent, the mind of 
each occupied with thoughts that were much the 
same. Barbara for the first time felt that she could 


299 


THE WHSTKHSTG OF BARBARA WORTH 


enter fully into her father’s life. She had at last 
seen behind his gray mask and found herself in full 
sympathy with him. And the lonely man knew that 
at last he had gained that for which his heart hun- 
gered — the fullest companionship of the girl he loved 
as his only child. 

At last Barbara said softly: “Daddy, I am not 
going back to Kingston to-morrow, I am going to 
stay here with you. You can have another tent house 
built and Texas can go for Ynez who will bring what 
things I need. I am going to make a home for you 
You need me, daddy. You are so alone in your 
work; no one understands you as I do now,. Let me 
come and help you.” 

Awkwardly Jefferson Worth put out his hand and 
drawing his daughter closer said in a tone that Bar- 
bara had never heard before: “I was wishing that 
you would want to stay. You — you are not afraid 
of me now, Barbara ?” 

“Why, no, of course not; what a strange thing to 
ask! I have never been afraid of you; whv should 
I be?” 

And Barbara thought that she spoke truly — that 
she had never feared him; though Jefferson Worth 
knew better. 

So another tent house was built and Texas went 
alone to Kingston, to return with Ynez as Barbara 
had planned, and the young woman set about making 
a home for her father in the rude desert camp. 

Every day nearly she rode El Capitan out to some 
part of the work, and the men who were toiling foi 
more than wages learned to know her and to hail 


300 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


her presence as a good omen. Many a rough fellow, 
dreaming of wife or sweetheart and the home he 
would make for them in the desert as he drove his 
team and held the bar of his Fresno, worked the 
harder for a cheery word from the daughter of his 
employer. 

And every evening under the ramada Barbara sat 
with her father, often alone, sometimes with one or 
more of her little court; and always the talk was of 
the work, save for the times wheh Pablo would come 
softly to make music for his Senorita and then they 
would sit silently, listening to the sweet harmonies 
that floated away into the night. 

Often Barbara would go the short distance from 
the house to the old wash ; there to sit almost on the 
very spot where her mother had perished beside the 
dry water hole; and watching the stream that now 
flowed through the old channel, or looking away 
across the deep cut to the sand hills that showed 
clearly in the distance, she would live over the story 
as she had learned it that day with Texas — asking 
the old, old question, to which there was still no 
answer. 

One afternoon as she was sitting there, two wagons 
with a small party of men appeared on the high bank 
of the stream opposite. As the men climbed down 
from their seats, someone on horseback rode to the 
edge of the cut and sat for a moment looking across* 
Even at that distance she knew him ; it was Willard 
Holmes. Watching she saw him turn and by his 
motions guessed that he was giving some instructions 
to the men. Then he rode away toward the Crossing* 


301 


THE WISHING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Quickly Barbara returned to the rude porch of the. 
tent house and in a few minutes saw the engineer 
approach. Dismounting and throwing the reins over 
his horse’s head he came to her smiling, sombrero in 
hand. “Buenas dias, Senorita. Please may I have 
a drink?” 

“Certainly, Mr. Holmes ; help yourself.” She 
pointed to the olla hanging in the shade of the 
ramada. 

The engineer started at her cool reply, given as she 
would have addressed a stranger, and, more to regain 
his composure than because he was thirsty, helped 
himself from the earthen water jar. When he could 
delay no longer he turned again to her, and forcing 
himself to speak as if he had not noticed the lack 
of warmth in her greeting said: “I was sorry to 
miss you in town. I called several times.” 

“I am keeping house here for father,” she an- 
swered. 

“Then we will be neighbors,” ho said with assumed 
lightness; “at least half-way neighbors. A party of 
my surveyors will be camped over there across the 
river. I will be with them part of the time.” 

When she made no reply to this, the man under- 
stood. Slowly he drew on his gloves and, laying 
aside all pretense, said simply : “I have been trying 
to see you, Miss Worth, because I wanted to tell you 
myself of the miserable part I took in the shameful 
trick my uncle attempted to play on your father. I 
see that you know all about it and I realize that it is 
quite useless for me to ask you to forgive me.” 

He paused, but still the young woman was silent 


302 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


The man could not know how she was fighting it 
keep back the tears. 

“You told me plainly that you could never forgiv© 
one who was untrue to his work,” he went on hope- 
iessly, “and you are right. There was a time, before 
I knew you, when I would have defended my action* 
when I would have held that it was right; but I 
cannot now. Perhaps if I had known you longer — — 
But what’s the use. I am a sad bungler in this great 
work, Miss Worth. I am out of place in the big 
desert. I should have stayed at home. I wish — I 
wish you had never wakened me to the possibilities of 
life — real life. You would not need to feel ashamed 
for me now.” 

When she looked up he was mounting his hors©. 
Almost she cried out to him* but he rode quickly 
t>f her sight* 


803 


CHAPTER XXL 

J^ABLO BRINGS NEWS TO BARBARA 

H LL through the long hot months of that second 
summer Barbara stayed in the desert with 
her father Many times Mr. Worth insisted 
that she should go to the coast or the mountains for 
a few weeks, while Abe, Texas and Pat added their 
entreaties. But the young woman’s answer was 
always — to her father: “If you must stay, daddy, 
then I must stay to take care of you to Abe it was i 
“Why don’t you take a vacation? This is just as 
much my work as it is yours;” to Texas it was a 
laughing question whether he thought she was a 
“quitter,” and to Pat she always declared that the 
desert could not in the least hurt her complexion. 

“And look at the other women,” she would argue, 
There was Jack Hanson’s little wife, with their chib 
dren, in a twelve by fourteen tent out there on their 
claim alone all day and many nights, while Jack 
was on the work. And Mrs. White, who stoutly 
declared that she was “sure going to stand by her 
Jim if it burned her to a crisp,” and that they did 
not have the money to spend even if they could leave 
the crops they had managed to plant. And MrSc 
Rollins and Mrs. Baird and Mrs. Cole and the others, 
who were holding down their husbands’ claims while 
the men were earning money on the works to help 
them in getting their start. Surely if these women 


304 


THE WINDING OF BARBARA WORTH 


could stay with their men-folk Barbara could. So 
Mr. Worth let her have her way. And the other 
three strove among themselves, with varied and pic- 
turesque figures of speech, and — it must be confessed 
— some rather strong language, to express their ad- 
miration for her courage and endurance, while all 
four taxed their inventive powers to the limit devis- 
ing ways to add to her comfort. 

The work in the South Central District continued 
steadily with no delay through lack of help, and 
when the canal was finished and the water ready, 
the men who had built it turned to making the 
ditches on their own claims, leveling their land for 
irrigation, preparing for the first crops and making 
what other improvements they could. Meanwhile 
the new townsite was laid out on the ground already 
occupied by the headquarters camp and the camp 
itself became the town of “Barba.” 

But, perhaps because — as Pablo said — “there was 
no Senorita in the Company,” Greenfield’s chief en= 
gineer again found it hard to hold his men through 
the hot months and was obliged to discontinue work 
on their Central Main. Holmes himself spent the 
weeks of the flood season at the river, refusing to 
leave even for a day. Three times, when conditions 
at the intake and heading were most critical and the 
danger that threatened the unconscious settlers 
seemed imminent, the engineer sent for Abe Lee, 
while Texas, Pat and Pablo were instructed by Mr 0 
Worth to be ready at an hour’s notice to move the 
entire working force of the district to the scene of 
the expected disaster. 


305 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


And still, even through those trying times Jeffer- 
son Worth continued his operations in all parts of 
the Basin and started various enterprises in his new 
town with the conviction of a born fatalist, though 
he almost constantly now, except when he was with 
Barbara, wore that expressionless gray mask. Abe 
Lee’s thin face, burned dark by constant exposure to 
the fierce desert sun, had a look of watchful readiness. 
And Barbara, seeing, thought that it was all because 
of the strain of their own work, for even Barbara 
was not told of the terrible risk that the Company 
was forcing the pioneers to take. 

Meanwhile James Greenfield and the Company 
officials, from the outside, watched the situation with 
the calmness of professional gamblers watching the 
turn of the cards. Though he did not come into the 
desert during the summer, the Company president 
spent most of his time in the West now, for the 
Reclamation project launched by him was assuming 
such proportions that his personal attention was justi- 
fied. Only one thing more was needed to bring such 
a flood of land-seekers, speculators and investors that 
the Company’s immense profits would be assured. 
The new country must have a railroad. 

To this end, in the city by the sea, the eastern 
financier was bringing every influence he could com- 
mand to bear upon the officials of the Southwestern 
and Continental that skirted the rim of the Basin. 
But the great man who shaped the destinies of the 
S. & C., secure in the knowledge that his road con- 
trolled the only pass through the range of mountains: 
that shut in the new country, for some reason refused 


306 



“Adios. Tell Barbara I’m all right” 


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THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


to build a branch line into the territory in which 
Mr. Greenfield was so deeply interested. 

J ames Greenfield, himself a power of the first mag- 
nitude in the financial world, was always admitted to 
the presence of the railroad man without delay and 
was always received by the official with every cour- 
tesy. His statements as to the extent and value of the 
lands that were being developed by his Company, 
with his estimates of the volume of business that a 
branch line would bring to the Southwestern and 
Continental, were received without question. The 
railroad man even betrayed unusual interest in the 
reclamation of The King’s Basin Desert, with a 
knowledge of conditions almost as complete as Mr. 
Greenfield’s. Frequently he asked of Jefferson 
Worth’s operations and of the development of the 
South Central District. But always he shook his 
head when Greenfield urged immediate action. There 
were certain reasons ; he was not at liberty to go into 
details. Some day no doubt the branch line would 
be built, but he could make no promises. 

This was the situation in the fall when, with the 
danger from the river past and his canals finished, 
Jefferson Worth sought an interview with the presi- 
dent of The King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Com- 
pany at his office in the Coast city. 

Mr. Greenfield received the banker cordially, con- 
gratulated him upon the success of his South Centra! 
District work and prophesied great things for every- 
body interested in The King’s Basin project. 

Jefferson Worth, behind his gray mask, at once 
made known the object of his visit. He wished to 

307 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


secure from the Company the right to take watei 
from their Central Main for a small power house to 
be located in the Dry River wash. Mr. Worth ex- 
plained frankly the advantage it would give the new 
town of Barba, in which he was interested, and 
stated that he had, some time before, laid his propo- 
sition before the Company’s manager in order that 
Mr. Greenfield might be informed of the matter. 

Greenfield said that he had heard from Mr. Burk 
and that he thought it might be arranged. Then, 
while Jefferson Worth listened with his usual careful 
attention, the Company man set forth their great 
need of a railroad. And by the way ; was Mr. Worth 
personally acquainted with the man who controlled 
the S. & C. ? 

“I know of him,” came the cautious reply. 

“Well, Mr. Worth,” said the president; “I’ll tell 
you what we’ll do. We need that railroad and we 
need it now. So far I have failed to get any definite 
promise from the S. & C. that they will give us a 
branch line. If you can secure a railroad for the 
Basin this year, we will give you the right of way for 
your power canal and a contract for the water.” 

“Is that your only proposition ?” 

“That is my only proposition.” 

The president of The King’s Basin Land and Irri- 
gation Company would have been astonished if he 
could have witnessed the meeting of Jefferson Worth 
and the railroad man an hour later. 

“Hello, Jeff!” came in hearty tones from the 
official as the door of his private office closed behind 


308 


THE WIHHHSTG OF BARBARA WORTH 


the banker. “How are you ? I hear that Greenfield 
sold you a gold brick.” 

Mr. Worth smiled while the other laughed heartily 
“I tell you, Jeff, we little Westerners have got to 
watch out for these big eastern operators or they’ll 
take the whole blamed country away from us.” 

“The gold brick is panning out pretty well so far, 5 * 
said the banker. 

“So I understand. Crawford has been telling me 
all about it. In fact the whole King’s Basin propo- 
sition looks mighty good to me, except for that Hew 
York bunch. I’m afraid of them, Jeff. Greenfield 
has been camping on my trail for three months^ 
wanting us to build them a branch line. I told 
Crawford yesterday that it was about time for you 
to come around.” 

“When are you going to build that road?” asked 
Mr. Worth. 

The other shook his head. “Can’t do it, Jeff. You 
know the situation as well as I. If the river comes 
in the whole country will go to smash; and with the 
class of structures they have put in to control it and 
with an eastern engineer in charge, it’s too big a 
chance. The S. & C. is not spending money to help 
out wild-cat projects promoted by eastern capital.” 

“But if you give us the branch line it will insure 
the success of the project, for it will make the Com 
pany property so valuable that they will spend more 
money to protect it.” 

“Or” — added the other — “we would have to spend 
more money to protect it. I’m sorry Jeff, if that’s 


309 


TLU WINNING OF BAKBAEA WORTH 


what you have been figuring on, but we are not an 
insurance company — we are in the transportation 
business/’ 

“Then you won’t build into the Basin ?” 

“Not under existing conditions, Jeff.” 

With as little show of emotion as he would have 
exhibited had he merely proposed to purchase a 
morning paper, Jefferson Worth said: “All right, 
then I’ll build it myself.” 

The railroad man knew that the quietly spoken 
words meant that the banker had determined to stake 
everything he had in the world upon a chance that 
even the S. & C., with its unlimited capital, refused 
to take. With his already large investments in the 
new country, the building of the railroad would tax 
Worth’s resources to the very limit and the failure 
of the Company’s project would mean for him finan- 
cial ruin. 

During the flood season just past Jefferson Worth 
had seen the safety of the Eeclamation work hanging 
on a very slender thread. Every hour he had looked 
for the disaster that would bring to nothing all that 
had been accomplished by the desert pioneers, whose 
ruin he would share, yet he calmly proposed now to 
throw into the venture everything that years of 
unceasing toil had brought him — his capital, his 
credit, his reputation. 

“Don’t do it, Jeff,” said his friend. “You are in 
deep enough now. Better keep an anchor to wind- 
ward.” 

“I figured on taking a chance when I went into 
that country,” said Worth simply. It was as if he 


310 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


had foreseen this situation from the very beginning 
and had planned how he would meet it. The railroad 
man’s face expressed his admiration for this display 
of nerve. 

“If I can do anything for you let me know, Jeff.” 

“Thanks. If you would just not mention to any- 
one that I am connected with this for a little while.” 

“Oh, I see. Greenfield again, I suppose? What 
are you up to anyway, Jeff; buying another gold 
brick?” 

Worth explained his plan for a power plant and 
Greenfield’s proposition. 

“Hell!” exclaimed the dignified official. “You 
can’t tell me that you are going to build a railroad 
into Greenfield’s town just to get a dinky little power 
plant in your own district. I’m not from New York, 
Jeff.” 

To which Jefferson Worth answered from behind 
his mask: “The Basin needs a railroad.” 

The next day Greenfield sought the railroad office 
in haste. “I understand that you have decided to 
build that branch road.” 

The official, who had received his guest with the 
dignified courtesy befitting one of his position, smiled 
at the other’s manner as a gracious sovereign might 
smile on granting a subject’s petition. 

Greenfield accepted the smile as an assent. “May 
I ask when you will begin the work ?” 

“I cannot say exactly, Mr. Greenfield. The survey 
wili probably be made at once and the work begun 
as soon as it is possible to assemble men and ma- 
terial.” 


311 


THE WIMmG OF BARBARA WORTH 


When The King’s Basin Messenger announced that 
the survey was being made for a railroad from the 
main line of the S. & C. at Deep Well to Kingston, it 
did not mention the fact that Abe Lee was in charge 
of the work. And James Greenfield, who signed the 
promised contract following the announcement, did 
not learn until the next issue of the Messenger that 
the road was not being built by the S. & C. but by 
Jefferson Worth himself. 

Quickly the news that the railroad was building 
into The King’s Basin was spread by the papers 
throughout the surrounding country and from every 
side the swelling flood of life poured in. Every sec- 
tion of the new lands felt the influence of the rush. 
For miles around the towns, every vacant tract was 
seized by the incoming settlers. Townsite companies 
quickly laid out new towns, while in the towns 
already established new business blocks and dwellings 
sprang up as if some Aladdin had rubbed his lamp* 
Real estate values advanced to undreamed figures 
and the property was sold, re-sold and sold again. 
And Kingston, the heart and center of it all — Kings- 
ton, Texas Joe said, “went plumb locoed.” 

The name of Jefferson Worth was on every tongue. 
Was he not the wizard who commanded prosperity 
and wealth to wait upon The King’s Basin ? Was he 
not the Aladdin who rubbed the lamp ? 

Horace P. Blanton, who seemed to increase mag- 
ically as if, indeed, he fed on the stuff of which booms 
are made, did not lack for audience now as he talked 
in rolling phrases of his friend Worth and what “we” 
had done, with suggestive hints of still greater things 

312 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


that “we” again would do. To see the great Horace 
P. in all the glory of white vest and picture-hat, as 
he escorted parties of awe-stricken newcomers about 
the town and pointed out with majestic gestures 
“our” opera house, “our” bank, “our” power house, 
“our” ice plant, the site of “our” new depot, was 
an experience never to be forgotten. To watch him 
give orders, when Pat was not near, to some laborer 
in the grading gang at work on the roadbed and yards 
or to see him instructing a merchant in the finer 
points of his business, was a delight. To hear him 
speak with authority upon every question relating to 
The King’s Basin project, from the stage of the 
water in the river two years before the first survey, 
and the future plans of Jefferson Worth, to the chem- 
ical properties of the soil, the proper grade for irri- 
gating alfalfa and the kinds and varieties of fruits 
and vegetables best adapted to the climate, was as 
instructive, as it was interesting. 

With the beginning of the work on the railroad? 
Barbara and her father again made their home in 
Kingston, and Horace P. Blanton, whenever he could 
escape from his arduous duties, endeavored earnestly 
to make himself agreeable to Jefferson Worth’s 
daughter. There was no mistaking either his pur= 
pose or his perfect confidence in his ability to achieve 
success. Many and ingenious were the things that 
three members of Barbara’s court promised each 
other should happen to Horace P. 

It was on one of those afternoons, when the man 
with the white vest was making himself very much at 
home on the front porch of the Worth cottage, that 


313 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


Pablo riding in from the South Central District 
sought La Senorita. Dismounting from his tired 
horse the Mexican, his spurs clanking on the walk, 
approached Barbara, and with his sombrero brushing 
the ground greeted her in his native tongue, turning 
an inquiring eye meanwhile upon the portly Hor- 
ace P. 

Barbara returned his greeting in Spanish, follow- 
ing her words in English with: “This is Senor 
Blanton, Pablo. Mr. Blanton, this is my friend 
Pablo Garcia.” 

The white man acknowledged the introduction 
with a lordly gesture. 

The Mexican, with a gleam of his white teeth 
said: “I have the pleasure to see the Senor some- 
times before. He is what they call ‘the booster/ I 
have hear him talk many times on street.” Then to 
Barbara : “I am come quick, Senorita, to find Senor 
Worth or Senor Lee. You know if it is far to where 
they are? I ride fast. My horse is tired.” 

Before the young woman could answer, the big 
man, with a voice of authority, said : “You will find 
them out on the line of the railroad somewhere 
between here and Deep Well. Just follow the grade. ' 
You can’t miss it.” 

Pablo should have considered himself dismissed 
but, ignoring Blanton, he waited for Barbara’s 
answer. “I don’t know just where they are, Pablo. 
You had better wait until they come in. Is there 
anything wrong?” 

The Mexican shrugged his shoulders with another 


314 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


glance toward her companion. “I cannot say, Senor- 
ita. There is no what you call accident, but I think 
better I come.” 

“What is it, my man?” said Horace P., again 
interrupting. “I will see Mr. Worth about it as 
soon as he comes in. You have no business troub- 
ling Miss Worth.” 

Barbara’s slippered toe tapped the floor nervously 
although Barbara was not a nervous young woman, 

Pablo, with another shrug, said coldly: “It is to 
tell Senor Worth or Senor Lee that I come. If La 
Senorita tells me I trouble her that is different.” 

The young woman spoke. “Put your horse in the 
barn, Pablo, and then come in. I know you have 
had nothing to eat since morning and you are all 
tired out. Ynez is away, but I will find something 
for you and you can rest here until father comes.” 

Pablo retreated and Barbara rising, said: “You 
will excuse me, Mr. Blanton.” 

“Are you going to let that greaser spoil our after= 
noon ?” he asked in a tone of offended majesty. 

The girl laughed outright. “You are so funny 
when you puff yourself up that way and try to look 
so kingly. Pray how is this our afternoon ? What is 
left of it belongs to Pablo. I am going to find him 
something to eat and then I mean to talk to him 
every minute until father comes. You may stay if 
you like, but we shall talk in Spanish.” 

The face of Horace P. Blanton expressed fat 
anguish. Rising, he went closer and stood over her 
with a look which he imagined to be a look of melt- 


315 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


ing tenderness and, in a voice that fairly dripped 
with honeyed sweetness, he began: “Miss Worth— 
Barbara, I — ” 

“Sir!” If Barbara had shot the word at him from 
Texas Joe’s forty-five it could not have been more 
effective. 

“I — I beg your pardon, Miss Worth,” he stam- 
mered. “Certainly, certainly; by all means, Miss 
Worth. Good-by.” 

And that was as near as Horace P. Blanton ever 
came to achieving the success of which he was sc 
confident. 

A few minutes later Pablo, without hesitation, told 
Barbara what had brought him to Kingston. A 
Mexican friend, who worked for The King’s Basin 
Land and Irrigation Company, had overheard a con- 
versation between the Company Manager and the 
chief engineer, who were together inspecting the 
work on the Central Main Canal. Dropping into his 
quaint English, Pablo repeated what his friend had 
told him. 

“Senor Holmes he say: ‘The canal will go here 
where the stakes are set.’ Senor Burk say : ‘No, you 
shall go that other way.’ ‘But that will leave the 
power house away eight miles and the elevation it is 
not the same,’ say Senor Holmes. Senor Burk say: 
‘Power house is Mr. Worth’s not our. This way is 
good for us.’ ‘Senor Holmes no like it. He is very 
mad,’ say my friend. He say: ‘I will not do it.’ 
Then Senor Burk say: ‘All right, you lose your 
job. Greenfield say it must go there; it is an order.’ 
Then they go ’way and my friend he tell me ’cause 


316 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

he think maybe it is no good for power house. I 
think maybe so Senor Worth like to know.” 

The next morning Jefferson Worth called upon 
the Manager of The King’s Basin Land and Irriga- 
tion Company. 

“Mr. Burk, I understand that you are changing 
the line of your Central Canal.” 

“We are.” 

“But my contract with your Company must be 
considered.” 

“We have already considered it, Mr. Worth. It 
relates only to the delivery of a certain amount of 
water into your canal. There is nothing in it that 
binds us to build our canal on the line surveyed.” 


CHAPTER XXII. 

GATHERING OF OMINOUS FORCES, 

INGSTON was a boiling, seething, steaming 
volcano of hot wrath, burning indignation 
and fiery protest. Kingston cursed, raved, 
stormed and resoluted, then stormed, raved and 
resoluted some more. Kingston was tricked, be= 
trayed, cheated, defrauded, insulted and mocked. 
And the unspeakable villain, the sordid wretch, the 
miserable gamester who had ruined Kingston was 
Jefferson Worth. 

It is unknown to this day who first brought the 
news that all work on the railroad for a distance of 
seven miles out from Kingston was stopped and that 
the camps with their entire outfits had disappeared, 
leaving the scenes of their stirring activity as still 
and lifeless as if they had never existed. Hext it 
was known that from Deep Well southward the com 
struction train was still pushing its way into the 
Basin and that the work ahead of the train went on. 
Then, while Kingston was wondering, questioning, 
discussing, the word went quickly around that the 
grading crews were setting up their camps twelve 
miles east of the Company town and that a line of 
stakes led one way to the town of Barba and the 
other way in the direction to meet the construction 
train working out from the junction with the S. & C< 
at Deep Well. 



bis 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Then the startled people grasped the truth of th 
appalling situation and awoke from their dream. Ir 
the line of the railroad survey that had led to Kings* 
ton as straight as you could draw a string, there was 
now a curve seven miles away, the tangent of which 
would carry it twelve miles east of the Company 
town and straight into Barba. 

Practically all business ceased, while the citizens 
in knots and groups discussed the situation. Jeffer* 
son Worth was in the Coast city and telegrams to 
him, all save one, received no answer. To a message 
from Mr. Burk he replied that the line had been 
changed by his orders. As for Abe Lee, they might 
as well have questioned one of the surveyor’s grade 
stakes. Even Barbara, besought by the distracted 
citizens, could tell them nothing except that her 
father would return Saturday. There was nothing 
to do save to wait for Mr. Worth and to prepare for 
his coming. 

When the president of The King’s Basin Land 
and Irrigation Company arrived on the scene in 
answer to an urgent wire from his Manager, he was 
at once the center of public interest. But Mr. Green- 
field escaped quickly from the crowd at the hotel and 
was very soon closeted with Burk in the office. 

Then a boy found Horace P. Blanton. Horace P. 
was not hard to find. With the word that Mr. Green- 
field desired to see him immediately, Horace P. 
Blanton increased visibly — so visibly that the spec- 
tators watched the white vest with no little anxiety. 

“Tell Mr. Greenfield that I will see him imme- 
diately, he said in a voice that was easily heard 


319 


THE WIKN1HG OF BARBARA WORTH 


across the street. Then Horace P. arrived at the 
door of the Company office a full length ahead of the 
messenger. 

An hour later, when Blanton reappeared to the 
public eye, the white vest could no longer be buttoned 
over his expanding importance and beads of por- 
tentous dignity stood on his massive brow. 

] What did Greenfield want? What was the Com- 
' pany going to do ? the crowd demanded eagerly. 

From his lofty height the great one answered : 
“Our Company president simply desired my opinion 
and advice in this little difficulty. As to what we 
will do, I am not at liberty to make a public state- 
ment, but — ” That “but” was filled with tremen- 
dous potential power. 

“Did Mr. Greenfield know that the change in the 
railroad line was contemplated ?” 

“Certainly not. He learned of it first from the 
telegram that called him to Kingston.” 

“Why was the change in the road made ?” 

Horace P. Blanton smiled. It was very easy to 
understand if they would look over this man Worth’s 
operations since he had been in the Basin. What 
had he done ? First he had quietly invested heavily 
in Kingston real estate. Next he had as quietly, 
through his various companies and agents, gained 
control of all the public utilities in the new country. 
Then he had so manipulated things that he gained 
absolute control of the whole Soath Central District, 
one of the richest sections of the Basin, and had 
started the town of Barba on land owned by himself. 


320 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


His next move was to gain control of the railroad, 
which, as every one knew, was started as an S. & C. 
line. “Remember,” said the perspiring master of 
affairs, “that when this man Worth began work on 
the railroad into Kingston, he still owned a large 
amount of Kingston real estate with buildings and 
business establishments. To-day you will find that — 
save for the newspaper, the telephone line, the power 
plant, the ice plant, the bank and his home — he does 
not own a foot of land, a building, or a business 
establishment in Kingston. What has he done ? He 
used the railroad to start a boom in our beautiful 
little city, then sold out at an immense profit and 
now, having no further interest in Kingston, changes 
the line of his road to Barba — the town that he owns, 
leaving us to make the most of the situation.” 

The orator’s impressive climax called forth from 
every hearer furious invectives against the absent 
financier. Following the announcement of the com- 
ing of the road to Kingston, the name of Jefferson 
Worth had been on every tongue. The same name 
was on every tongue now, but the man that had been 
hailed as the good genius of the reclamation was now 
cursed for a selfish fiend, who would lay waste the 
whole country for his own greedy ends. 

Horace P. Blanton exhausted both himself and the 
English language in a lurid, picturesque and vigorous 
delineation of the character of this monstrous enemy 
of the race. It was such gold-thirsty pirates as 
Jefferson Worth who, by preying upon legitimate 
business interests and coining for themselves the 


321 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


heart-blood of the people, made it so hard for such 
public benefactors as James Greenfield to promote 
the interests of the country. 

It was beautiful to see how the speaker appreciated 
the splendid character, matchless genius and noble 
life of his friend Greenfield, the distinguished presi- 
dent of the King’s Basin Company and the father 
of Reclamation. Some day, he declared, the citizens 
of the reclaimed desert, looking over their mag- 
nificent farms and beautiful homes, would appreciate 
the work of this man and understand then, as they 
could not now, how he had toiled in their interests. 
As for this fellow Jefferson Worth, dark and dreadful 
were the hints that Horace P. dropped as to his 
future. 

It was Horace P. Blanton who arranged for a 
public indignation meeting in the Worth opera house 
the afternoon of Jefferson Worth’s expected return. 
When the day arrived Kingston entertained the 
largest crowd that had ever gathered within the boun- 
daries of the town. For word of the situation had 
traveled throughout the Basin, and from every corner 
of the new country men came to the scene of the 
excitement to attend the mass-meeting and to be 
present when the man that threatened Kingston with 
ruin should appear. Teamsters left their teams and 
Fresnos on the Company works, ranchers left their 
crops and cattle, newly located settlers forsook their 
ditching and leveling, zanjeros deserted their water 
gates and levees. Bold, hardy, venturesome spirits 
these were, with bodies toughened by hard toil in the 
cj**' air and faces blackened and bronzed by constant 

322 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


exposure to the semi-tropical sun, for the desert did 
not yield to weaklings who would submit tamely tc 
being skillfully juggled out of their own by a slim- 
fingered manipulator of business. Under the natural 
curiosity and love of entertainment that drew these 
strong, roughly dressed, roughly speaking pioneers 
to the point of interest, there was an under-current 
of grim determination to protect their new country 
from the schemes of unprincipled corporations. It 
was an old, old story. 

At the mass-meeting there were many vigorous 
speeches by hot-headed ones, a masterly address by 
Horace P. Blanton, and — because he could not escape 
this — a few words by James Greenfield, who was 
introduced by Blanton as “the father of The King’s 
Basin Reclamation work” and received by the citizens 
with generous applause. Acting upon Greenfield’s 
suggestion, a committee was appointed to wait upon 
Mr. Worth immediately upon his arrival and the 
meeting adjourned until nine o’clock that evening, 
when the committee would report. 

As the eventful day drew near its close, horsemen 
from the South Central District began to arrive. 
These were the men who had worked for Jefferson 
Worth on the canals and who, through him, were now 
developing ranches of their own. These South Cen- 
tral men scattered quietly through the crowd and 
soon in every group there was one or more of the 
new-comers, listening attentively. And it was a sig- 
nificant, though in that country an unnoticed fact, 
that every man from Jefferson Worth’s district wore 
the familiar side-arms of the West. But these 


323 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


attentive ones took no part in the discussions, speak- 
ing neither in defense nor in condemnation of the 
man who had so stirred the public indignation. 

As the hour for the arrival of the stage approached, 
the crowd massed in front of the hotel, filling the 
lobby, the arcade and the street, and still scattered 
through the throng were the men from the South 
Central District. 

When the stage was seen in the distance a low 
murmur, like the threatening rumble of a coming 
storm, arose from the mass of men and, following 
this, a hush like the hush of Nature before the storm 
breaks. Into and through the strangely silent crowd 
the driver of the six broncos forced his frightened 
team. As the stage stopped and the passengers, look- 
ing curiously down into the excited faces of the 
throng, prepared to alight, a murmur arose. The 
murmur swelled into a roar. Jefferson Worth was 
not there! 

When the main line train discharged its Basin 
passengers at the Junction that afternoon, the engine 
of the construction train on the new road brought 
Mr. Worth as far as the rails were laid. Here Texas 
Joe, with a fast team and light buckboard, was wait- 
ing. So it happened that while the crowd was massing 
in front of the hotel awaiting the arrival of the stage, 
Jefferson Worth was at his home quietly eating his 
supper and reassuring his frightened daughter. 

When the assembled pioneers learned from the 
stage driver that the man they waited for had left 
the Junction on the engine, they were not long in 
arriving at the truth. The excitement, inflamed by 

324 


THE WISHING OF BARBARA WORTH 


what seemed the fear of Jefferson Worth and 
increased by the judicious efforts of Horace P. 
Blanton, was intense. From an orderly company of 
indignant citizens waiting to interview a public 
man, the crowd became a mob pursuing an escaping 
victim. With shouts and yells they started for the 
Worth home. And with them went the quiet men 
from the South Central District. 

As the sound of the approaching crowd reached the 
two at the table, Barbara sprang to her feet, her face 
white with fear. “Daddy, they’re coming. They’re 
coming !” she whispered, trembling with anxiety for 
her father’s safety. “Quick! El Capitan is ready. 
I told Pablo to have him saddled.” 

But Jefferson Worth, quietly sipping the cup of 
black coffee with which he always finished his meal, 
returned calmly : “Sit down, Barbara. I won’t need 
El Capitan to-night.” 

As he spoke the crowd arrived at the front of the 
house and, as if to confirm his words, a sudden 
peaceful silence followed the uproar of their coming. 

On the front porch, in the red level light of the 
sun that across the desert was just touching the top- 
most ridge of Ho Man’s Mountains, stood the tall, 
grizzly-haired, dark-faced old-timer, Texas Joe; the 
heavy-shouldered, bull-necked Irish gladiator, Pat; 
and the lean, sinewy, iron-nerved man of the desert, 
Abe Lee; while quietly pushing and elbowing their 
way to the front were the men from the South Central 
District. 

The quiet was broken by the slow, drawling voice 
of Texas Joe. “Evenin’ boys. What for is the stain- 


325 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


pede? We-all trusts you ain't aimin' to tromp out 
the grass none on Mr. Worth's premises." 

Within the house Barbara and her father heard 
the drawling challenge and the color returned to the 
young woman's cheeks as she smiled and whispered : 
“Good old Uncle Tex." 

There was in that soft, southern voice an under- 
current of such cool readiness, such confident mastery 
of the situation, that her fears vanished. Hor was 
the crowd in front slow to recognize that which 
reassured Barbara. 

For a moment following Texas Joe's greeting there 
was a restless shifting to and fro in the crowd, then 
the impressive bulk of Horace P. Blanton detached 
itself from the “common herd." With hands up- 
lifted and a gesture of mingled command and appeal, 
he called: “Ho violence, men! Ho violence! For 
God's sake don't shoot ! Let me talk a minute.” 

Whether he appealed to the three men on the porch 
or to the company behind him was not clear, but 
Texas answered: “You-all has the floor as usual, 
Senator. I don't reckon anybody here will be sc 
impolite as to interrupt your remarks." 

“Is Mr. Worth at home?" 

“He sure is; altogether and very much to home." 

“Could we — ah — see him to ask about a matter 
that concerns vitally every gentleman in this com 
pany ?" Horace P. was regaining his breath and his 
poise at the same time. 

“Mr. Worth, just at this minute, is engaged with 
his daughter at the supper table. His superintendent, 
Mr. Lee, is present and will be glad to hear what you 

326 


THE WINDING OF BARBARA WORTH 


have to say.” The exact, formal politeness of the 
old plainsman was delightful. In spite of the gravity 
of the situation several in the crowd chuckled audibly. 

“Mr. Worth will see your committee,” said Abe 
crisply. 

The citizens had forgotten their committee. Horace 
P. Blanton had made it difficult to remember. Three 
men now came out of the crowd at different points 
and went forward, James Greenfield’s orator fol- 
lowing them to the porch. But as the men came up 
the steps Abe spoke in a low tone to his compe aions, 
and Blanton found his way barred by the solir bulk 
of Pat. 

“Were you also appointed to interview Mr. 
Worth?” asked Abe, dryly. “I understood it w?s a 
committee of three.” 

“I’m not exactly a member of our committee, but 
I’m always glad to offer my services in the best 
interests of the people.” 

“Mr. Worth will see the committee,” said Abe. 

“But you have no right, sir — This is an outrage, 
a disgrace! I — ” 

A growl from the Irishman interrupted him. 
“That’s just fwhat I’m thinkin’. The presence av 
sich a domned hot air merchant as yersilf is a die* 
grace to any Gawd-fearin’ company av honest work- 
in’men. Av Abe here will only give me lave — ” 

Horace P. backed away, and from beyond reach of 
those huge fists said loftily: “My friend Mr. Worth 
shall hear of this.” 

“ ’Tis likely that he will av ye stand widin rache 
of me two hands,” agreed Pat. 

327 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Horace P. backed farther away. “I shall let him 
know that I offered my services, 1 ” he declared with all 
the dignity he could command. 

“Do,” called the Irishman. “I think that av ye 
offered yersilf chape enough he might give ye a job 
wid a shovel on the grade. ’Tis mesilf wud be 
proud to have ye in me gang av rough-necks. Dom’ 
me but I think I cud rejuce yer waist line to more 
reshpectable an’ presintable deminsions.” 

At this the crowd laughed outright, for not one of 
those hardy pioneers but knew the real value of 
Horace P. Blanton to the reclamation work and 
therefore the force of the Irish boss’s remarks. 

While Pat and — against his will — the Company’s 
representative were amusing the crowd, Abe led the 
committee to Jefferson Worth. One of these men 
was a prominent merchant who, for the first eight 
months of his business in Kingston, had occupied a 
store-room in one of Worth’s buildings rent free. 
Another was a real estate man, whom the banker had 
supplied with funds that enabled him to make several 
profitable deals that would otherwise have been lost. 
The other man was a successful rancher, who owned 
a half-section of improved land joining the townsite. 
Deck Jordan had carried him at the store for imple- 
ments, seed and provisions the first two years. 

Jefferson Worth greeted them in his habitually 
colorless voice, and they — striving to see behind that 
gray mask — felt that there might be something in 
the situation that had not appeared on the surface 
in spite of the fact that the situation had been made 
so clear by Horace P. Blanton after his interview 


328 


THE WIHNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


with the president of the Company. This quiet- 
voiced, calm-faced man, who had been so ready to 
help every worthy settler in the new country, did not 
appear at all the monster in disguise that the chief 
speaker at the mass-meeting had pictured. The com- 
mittee, free from the heat of the crowd and the 
eloquence of Horace P., felt just a little ashamed. 

“Mr. Worth,” said the spokesman with a smile, 
“we were appointed to interview you about this rail- 
road business.” 

“What do you wish to know, Gordon ?” 

“Well, first, is it true that you have sold out prac- 
tically all of your property in Kingston ?” 

“Yes. It was my property.” Jefferson Worth did 
not explain that he had sold because he was forced to 
turn everything he could into cash in order to build 
the railroad so badly needed by the new country. 

The committee looked serious. “Is it true,” con- 
tinued the spokesman, “that you are changing the 
line of the railroad so as to take it to Barba and leave 
Kingston out entirely ?” 

“The line of the road is changed,” came the exact, 
colorless answer. 

“Will it be possible to make some arrangement by 
which you would carry out your former plan and 
build the road into Kingston ?” 

“You mean a bonus ?” 

“Yes.” 

“I’m not in the market.” 

“Is there nothing that we can do to change the 
situation P 


329 


THE WISHING OF BARBARA WORTH 


The answer startled the committee. “Tell Green' 
field that he had better see me himself.” 

Jefferson Worth’s relation to The King’s Basin 
Land and Irrigation Company was always a much 
discussed question among the pioneers. The new 
country was settled by working people of limited 
means, and if there is one belief common to this class 
it is that all capitalists are members of one great 
robber band, perfectly organized, firmly united and 
operating in perfect harmony against their helpless 
victim — the public. However much they might fight 
among themselves over the division of the spoils, they 
were a unit in their common operations against the 
masses. 

From the first Jefferson Worth was held by many 
to be the secret agent, the silent co-partner, of Green- 
field, and the South Central District seemed to 
justify this opinion, for of course the public knew 
nothing of the inside of that deal. The people 
accepted Mr. Worth’s personal assistance cheerfully, 
thankfully, and had come to look upon him as a 
friend. But this did not in the least alter their belief 
that he belonged to the band. He was simply a gen- 
erous, gentlemanly sort of robber, kin to the hold-up 
man who returns the railroad tickets of the passen- 
gers and refuses to rob the ladies. This railroad 
situation had seemed to deny the relationship between 
the banker and the Company, and now came Worth’s 
advice: “Tell Greenfield that he had better see me 
himself.” It was no wonder that the members of the 
committee looked at each other startled and bewil- 
dered. Was it, after all, a fight between the members 


330 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


of the hand over the division of the spoils? It was 
too deep for the committee. They could feel dimly 
that mighty forces were stirring beneath the surface, 
but they could not fathom what it was all about. 
One thing was clear: the one thing that is always 
clear when capital speaks to business men of their 
class — they must obey. 

“What shall we report to the crowd ?” they asked 
as they arose to go. 

“I figured that you would tell them what I have 
told you,” came the answer. 

The crowd, when the committee briefly reported 
their interview, were as puzzled as the members of 
the committee, and questioned and discussed, af- 
firmed and denied until Pat said to his companions 
on the porch that it sounded like “a flock av domned 
bumble bees.” 

When the president of Tlie Xing’s Basin Land and 
Irrigation Company, who dared not refuse the re- 
quest of the committee, stood before Jefferson 
Worth, the man behind the gray mask forced him to 
speak first. 

“I understand you wished to see me about this 
railroad matter, Mr. Worth.” 

“I told the committee that you had better see me,” 
came the answer without a trace of emotion in the 
colorless voice. 

“Well, I am here; what do you want?” 

“I want a new contract from your Company bind- 
ing you to build your Central Main Canal on the line 
of the original survey, bringing it to a point within 
four hundred yards of the west line of the South 
331 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Central District where the San Felipe trail crosses 
Dry River, and agreeing to deliver into my power 
canal without charge a flow of three hundred second 
feet of water, as in the old contract; and in addition 
the exclusive power rights in all of the Company’s 
canals in the Basin.” 

“If I give you this contract you will build the 
railroad into Kingston ?” 

“When you change the line of your canal back to 
the original route I will change the line of my road.” 

“Suppose I refuse ?” 

“My railroad will not come into Kingston and I 
will explain to the crowd out there the reason. You 
have worked up a pretty strong public feeling against- 
me, Mr. Greenfield. Now make good or stand in my 
place and take the consequences.” 

James Greenfield was not slow to grasp the point, 
A simple explanation of the situation from Jefferson 
Worth with the old contract to back it up would turn 
the wrath of the people against the Company presi- 
dent. Rising, he said with an oath: “You win, Mr. 
Worth. I’ll have the contract ready for your signa- 
ture in the morning. Now what will we do with that 
mob out there?” 

“It is your mob, Mr. Greenfield,” answered Jeffer- 
son Worth. 

A few minutes later from the front porch of the 
Worth cottage, with Texas Joe on his right hand and 
Pat on his left, Horace P. Blanton announced : “Our 
committee will report at the opera house in half an 
hour.” 

The committee reported that Kingston was saved 

332 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


.and the orator of the day made another speech so far 
eclipsing all his former efforts that the cheering 
citizens were evenly divided as to whether it was 
James Greenfield, Jefferson Worth or Horace P 0 
Blanton who saved it. 

“Well, boys,” remarked one of the men from the 
South Central District as the little party of horsemen 
set out for the long ride home, “one thing is sure 0 
Those Kingston fellows have got the railroad, but we 
still have Jefferson Worth, an’ I reckon that Jeff can 
build us a railroad any old time he gets ready.” 

% “That’s right,” returned another, “but what in hell 
do you suppose it was all about? What’s Jeff’s game 
anyhow?” 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

EXACTING ROYAL TRIBUTE. 


|H spite of the optimistic view of the man who 
said that Jefferson Worth could build a rail- 
road for Barba and the South Central Dis- 
trict whenever he wished, there was no little disap- 
pointment expressed in Worth’s town when it became 
known that the Company town was to have the road. 

When the grading camps had returned to their 
former locations and the construction train drew 
every day nearer Kingston, with the time approach- 
ing when regular trains with passengers and freight 
would ply to and from the Company town, the feeling 
of discontent in Barba grew. It even came to be gen- 
erally understood throughout the Basin that the 
whole movement had been cleverly planned by Jeffer- 
son Worth to force The King’s Basin Land and Irri- 
gation Company to make a large contribution to the 
railroad builder’s personal fortune. The people sensed 
something in the whole transaction that they could 
not clearly grasp, an intangible, mysterious some- 
thing, as great as it was indefinite. They felt blindly 
that they were being used without their consent in a 
game played by these master financiers, and they 
resented being sacrificed as dumb pawns in a move* 
the purpose of which they could not know. 

In the meantime, while the people were charging 

33 <. 



THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


him with selling them out to gain his own ends, the 
man whose purpose was known only to himself wa? 
putting into his enterprise the last dollar of his 
resources, and another flood season with its appalling 
danger was at hand. 

Because his laborers on the railroad were not as 
the men who built the South Central canals, working 
for more than their day’s wage, and because, though 
no one knew it, Jefferson Worth’s finances were so 
nearly exhausted, work on the road, as on the Com- 
pany project, was discontinued for the summer 
months, to be resumed in the fall — perhaps. 

Barbara again refused to leave her father and in 
the close companionship and full understanding of 
his daughter, the man, who lived so much alone 
behind his gray mask, found inspiration and 
strength. 

The telephone now connected the heading at the 
river intake with Kingston, and every hour of those 
hot days and nights Jefferson Worth listened for a 
call from Willard Holmes, whc also had refused to 
leave his work, while three of the fastest saddle horses 
in the Basin were stabled with El Capitan. Texas, 
Abe and Pablo were ready to ride at an instant’s 
notice to rally the pioneers, who were developing 
their ranches, building their homes and planning 
their future unconscious of the real danger that hung 
over them. 

Vague rumors of the dangerous condition of the 
Company structures floated about and there were not 
wanting prophecies of disaster. But not one in a 
hundred of the settlers had even visited the intake 


335 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


at the river, or if they had, what could they judge 
of conditions there ? The settlers were ranchers, not 
civil engineers. The Company zanjeros turned the 
water into their ditches when they asked for it ; their 
crops, growing marvelously in the rich soil, demanded 
constant attention ; they had neither time, inclination 
nor ability to investigate every flying rumor. As for 
the prophets of evil, only confirmed optimists can 
reclaim a desert or settle a new country and the 
croakers received little attention. Besides, the great, 
all-powerful Company would surely protect its own 
interests and, in protecting its own, would protect the 
interests of the settlers. It was the business of the 
Company engineers to look after the river. The 
ranchers were looking after the ranches. 

Thus another summer went by and the great river, 
save for the small toll taken by those who were 
reclaiming the desert it had created in the ages of 
long ago, continued on its way to the sea. Its time 
was not yet. 

With the return of the cooler weather and the still 
further increase in the volume of new life that con- 
tinued to pour into the Basin from the great world 
outside, work on the railroad was begun again, but 
Jefferson Worth knew that the first pay day would 
mark the end. He was as a man with his back to a 
wall, fighting bravely to the last blow, and he stood 
alone. 

Among the hundreds of pioneers with whom Worth 
had elected — as he had told Abe Lee the night of his 
arrival in Kingston — to take a chance, there was not 
one to take a chance with him now. If he lost he 


336 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


*vould lose alone, for those who had built upon the 
work that he had done would not suffer through his 
defeat. Had any of them known the situation they 
could have done nothing to help him. But no one 
knew, and this was the financier’s one desperate 
chance — that no one did know, not even Barbara. 

With his capital exhausted and no resources upon 
which he could realize, he went ahead with the w T ork 
apparently with the confidence of one with millions 
behind him. It was, in the language of the West, all 
a bluff. But it was a magnificent bluff. 

Two weeks of the month were gone when a tele- 
gram from the high official of the S. & C. summoned 
him to the city. 

The railroad man, in the secrecy of his private 
office, greeted the promoter with his usual, “Hello, 
Jeff. I see The King’s Basin is still on the map.” 

Jefferson Worth smiled, then, as the official’s eyes 
were fixed upon his face in a way that he understood, 
he retreated behind his mask. “Things are going 
very well,” he answered. 

“Working full gangs on that railroad of yours ?” 

“We have taken on all the men we can handle. We 
will be ready for that last lot of steel in another two 
weeks.” 

The other lay back in his chair and laughed with 
hearty admiration and regard. “Jeff, you are a 
wonder! How long do you suppose it would take 
Greenfield to start something with your creditors if 
he knew what I know ?” 

Kot a line of Jefferson Worth’s face changed, only 
his nervous fingers caressed his chin, and the railroad 

337 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


man, noting the familiar signal, smiled again. The> 
leaning forward in his chair he said: “Jeff, I have 
been keeping my eye on you ever since those days 
when our line was building into Rubio City and you 
handled the right-of-way for us. I have never caught 
you in a blunder yet. When it comes to sizing up a 
proposition all around I don’t believe you have an 
equal. How look here.” With a quick movement 
he took a paper from a pigeon-hole in his desk and 
laid it before the other. The paper was a carefully 
tabulated statement of Jefferson Worth’s financial 
condition at that moment. In vain the official tried 
to see behind that gray mask. 

“Well.” The word was absolutely colorless. 

“Well !” repeated the other savagely, “what I want 
to know is this : why in hell you are bucking Green- 
field and his crowd to such a limit ?” 

“Because,” said Jefferson Worth carefully, “I 
believe in the future of The King’s Basin project, 
providing — ” he paused. 

“Providing what?” 

“Providing someone bucks Greenfield to the limit.” 

In one instantaneous flash, the man whose clear 
brain directed thousands of miles of a great railroad 
system caught a glimpse of the real Jefferson Worth 
— the Jefferson Worth who was not, as the railroad 
man had himself said, “doing it all for a dinky little 
power plant.” 

“Jeff,” he said slowly, “when you asked us to build 
a branch line into the Basin I told you that we 
couldn’t do it. As I said then, we are not in the 
insurance business. A railroad’s business depends 

338 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


upon the actual development of a country, not upon 
backing promoters who open up a new country sim- 
ply as a speculative proposition. You say you believe 
in the future of The King’s Basin country providing 
some one bucks Greenfield and you -are sure giving 
him a run for his money. But you have reached the 
end of your pile and I know it. Now, I have been 
taking up this matter with our people and we are 
ready to take a chance on your judgment. Suppose 
we take over your road as it stands at a fair price— 
What would be your next move? Get out and leave 
us in the insurance business ?” 

“I would build a line from Kingston to Barba, 
tapping the South Central District, which is the 
richest section of the Basin,” came the instant reply. 

“Good ! But perhaps you don’t want to sell the 
line you are building to the S. & C.,” he suggested 
with a smile. 

“I figured that you would be ready to make me a 
proposition about the time I had it in shape for the 
last shipment of steel.” 

Worth’s bluff had won. 

The railroad man said again solemnly: “Jeff, you 
are a wonder!” 

With the passing of his nearly completed railroad 
into the 'hands of the S. & C. Jefferson Worth began 
at once to arrange for the building of the other line 
from Barba to Kingston. This new road, to be known 
as the King’s Basin Central, connecting with what 
was now the S. & C., would give an outlet to the rich 
South Central District, while the Southwestern and 
Continental Company announced that its new branch 
339 


THE WINKING OF BARBARA WORTH 


would not stop at Kingston but would build on south 
to Frontera. 

With a main line branch of a trans-continental 
railroad building straight through the heart of the 
new country, and their town located just half way 
between the junction and the terminal, The King’s 
Basin Land and Irrigation Company saw the value 
of their property increased many times. The day 
was not far distant now when every quarter section 
of the desert land would be filed on by eager settlers, 
and the once barren waste would rapidly give place 
to the fertile fields of the ranchers, every foot of 
which should yield tribute to James Greenfield and 
his associates. But the reclamation of the desert 
opened many avenues for profit other than the irriga- 
tion system. 

From these also the Company, obeying the law of 
Good Business, had planned to take toll, but the field 
for investment most closely allied with the fields of 
the ranchers, and therefore keeping even pace with 
the increasing wealth of the new country, had been 
preempted by Jefferson Worth. The Company 
desired to add to their holdings those enterprises that 
had come to be known as the Worth interests. They 
had failed repeatedly to bring about a union of forces. 
Their only recourse then was to force the independent 
operator to sell to them or to eliminate him from 
The King’s Basin project. To this end Greenfield 
and Burk watched and planned on the well known 
principle that whatever J efferson Worth wanted was 
bad for the Company, until the day when the 
interests of Worth and those of The King’s Basin 

340 


THE WINKING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Land and Irrigation Company should be the same or 
Jefferson Worth should be no longer a factor in the 
new country. 

While the Worth enterprises were firmly estab- 
lished in all the centers of activity in the Basin, the 
Company knew that his largest interests were in 
Barba and the South Central District. Worth must 
have railroad connections with the S. & C. line before 
he could even begin to realize on his largest invest- 
ments. There was every reason why he should desire 
to make Kingston the junction point of the road he 
was now forced to build. James Greenfield was not 
backward in letting Worth understand that he would 
need to pay well for a right-of-way with terminal 
facilities in the Company town. 

For two weeks Jefferson Worth tried to bring the 
Company president to some reasonable settlement but 
his efforts only served to make Greenfield more deter- 
mined to exact royal tribute. “I tell you,” said the 
president triumphantly to his Manager, “he’s forced 
to build that line or go to smash with his town and 
district. No one will settle away off there from the 
railroad as long as they can locate in reach of Kings- 
ton or Frontera, and he has got to connect with the 
S. & C. branch at Kingston, for we are the only place 
between the main line and the terminal.” 

When Mr. Worth reminded them that the pro- 
posed road would benefit Kingston and that in view 
of its value to their town it would be only just for 
them to give him the privileges he needed but for 
which he was quite ready to pay a reasonable price, 
Greenfield declared that his Company had already 


341 


THE WIHNnsrG OF BARBARA WORTH 


given Worth quite enough. Of course, if they could 
find some basis upon which to unite their interests 
that would he another matter. 

Then the evening mail brought to Mr. Worth cer- 
tain legal looking papers and the next morning he 
called again upon Mr. Greenfield. In a spring 
wagon in front of the Company office Texas Joe and 
Abe Lee waited with a prosperous looking stranger 
who also had arrived the evening before. 

“Mr. Greenfield, I have come for your final answer 
on this railroad deal.” 

On Greenfield’s face there was a smile of satisfac- 
tion and triumph. There were several reasons why 
he enjoyed seeing Jefferson Worth in a corner. “I 
am ready to listen to any other proposition you have 
to make, Mr. Worth.” 

“You have the only proposition I shall make.” 

“Really, I fear that w^ can do nothing this morn- 
ing” 

The visitor turned on his heel and left the office. 

Later, in describing the interview to Willard 
Holmes, Burk commented thoughtfully: “I very 
much fear your festive IJncle Jim played the game 
a little too fine. You can take some things and most 
men for granted; but a railroad, now, and Jefferson 

Worth ” he shifted his cigar to the comer of his 

mouth and cocked his head in the opposite direction. 
“I think, Willard, that something is going to hap- 
pen.” 

What happened was this: When Jefferson Worth 
left the Company’s office he stepped into the waiting 
rig beside the stranger. “Go ahead, Abe,” he said. 


342 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Then the surveyor giving Texas the direction, the 
team sped away. Once in the desert they stopped 
occasionally while the surveyor examined the four 
by four redwood stakes. At a point on the S. & C. 
four miles north of Kingston and therefore between 
the Company town and the main line, Abe directed 
Texas to stop. 

The surveyor, taking a note book from his pocket, 
went to a corner stake and indicated with out- 
stretched hands the direction of the boundary lines 
of a tract of land owned by his employer. “Here we 
are, Mr. Worth.” 

The place was raw desert and except for the rail- 
road without sign of life save the life of the hard, 
desolate land; though in the distance could be seen 
the improved ranches, with Kingston in their midst. 
Standing on the slight elevation of the railroad grade 
Jefferson Worth looked around silently. Then, fol- 
lowed by the stranger and Abe, he walked some dis- 
tance west of the track. 

Pausing and striking his boot-heel into the soft 
earth, he said with much less show of emotion than 
is exhibited by the average school boy in laying out 
a ball-ground: “We will build a hotel here; over 
there a bank. The main street will run toward the 
railroad. The Basin Central from Barba will come 
in from the southeast.” 

And this was the beginning of Republic, the town 
that was built on a barren desert almost in the time 
it would have taken to prepare the land, plant and 
grow a crop of com. 

The stranger was the president of a townsite corn- 

843 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


pany organized by Jefferson Worth while James 
Greenfield was congratulating himself that he at last 
had that gentleman in a trap. Worth had given the 
company the land and had entered into an agreement 
whereby he w T as to build a hotel and several business 
blocks and furnish them, rent free, for one year. 

With the railroad to deliver material in any desired 
quantity, work was begun in a few days. The King’s 
Basin Messenger and the papers in Frontera 
and Barba, all owned by Worth, gave full accounts 
of the birth of the new town and the reason why The 
King’s Basin Central would not be built into Kings- 
ton, with glowing accounts of Worth’s plans for the 
future of the Company’s rival town. The Worth 
Electric Company moved its plant from Kingston to 
Republic ; the ice-plant, the bank, the telephone office 
and every enterprise controlled by W T orth followed; 
while many merchants, lured by the success of the 
Wizard of the Desert in every undertaking and by 
the promise of rent free, went with the Worth 
industries; and from the world outside many, who 
had hesitated to enter the new country before the 
railroad, rushed in to locate in the new town. The 
first building completed in Republic was a cottage 
for Barbara and her father. 

Meanwhile the work on the road to Barba and the 
South Central District was begun. The “something” 
prophesied by Mr. Burk had happened. 


344 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

JEFFERSON WORTH GOES FOR HELP. 

HE winter following the birth of Republic- 
witnessed the greatest activities that had 
been seen in the new country. The freighters* 
wagons that had once seemed so pitifully inadequate, 
as they crept feebly away into the mysterious 
silences, were replaced now by long trains, heaviD 
loaded with building material and goods of every 
kind and drawn by laboring engines that puffed and 
roared and clanged and screamed their stirring 
answer to the challenge of the silent, age-old, desolate 
land. And still the work that had been done was 
small in comparison with that which was yet to do 
before the reclamation of Barbara’s Desert would be 
complete. The acres of land untouched by grader’s 
Eresno or rancher’s plow were many more than the 
acres that were producing crops. The miles of canals 
and ditches that were to be built were many more 
than the miles already carrying water. The tent 
houses and shacks of the pioneers were yet to i be 
replaced by more comfortable homes. The frontier 
towns — big in that new country — were yet to grow 
into cities. From the top of any building in any 
one of the four towns one could look into the barren 
desert. 

Tourists on the main line that skirted the rim of 

345 



THE WINKING OF BARBARA WORTH 


the Basin, from the car windows saw only the 
mighty reaches of the dun plain, with its thirsty veg- 
etation, stretching away to the distant purple moun- 
tain wall. Curiously the overland passengers looked 
at the crowds of settlers waiting for the Basin train 
at the J unction, wondering at their hardihood. Curi- 
ously they followed with their eyes the thin line of 
rails and telegraph poles leading southward until it 
was lost in the mystic depths of color. To the tour- 
ists it was a fantastic dream that out there, some- 
where in the barren waste, people were building 
towns, cultivating fields, transacting business and 
engaging in all the Good Business activities of the 
race. It was as impossible to them as it had been 
to Willard Holmes when Barbara first introduced 
him to her Desert and tried to make him see, as she 
saw, the greatness of the work of which he was to 
become a part. 

The latter part of that winter found Jefferson 
W orth again with his back to the wall. J ames Green- 
field, in his attempt to hold up his rival in the mat- 
ter of the King’s Basin Central junction, had 
wrought better than he knew. While Worth’s enter- 
prises were barely as yet paying their way, the rail- 
road, which he was forced to build in order to pro- 
tect 'his own interests in the town of Barba and in 
the South Central District, would require practically 
all he had realized on the sale of the other line that 
had so nearly exhausted his resources. The Company 
president, in forcing him to build the town of Re- 
public in addition to his heavy outlay on his new 
railroad, forced 'him to take another desperate chance. 

346 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


For the first time he was unable to pay the men, and 
in thirty days large obligations for material would 
be due; while certain rumors, carefully started by 
Greenfield, made it almost impossible for him to raise 
the funds he mus t have. 

“Pm sorry, Jeff,” said his friend the railroad mam 
“But with present unsafe conditions we can’t load up 
with any more property in The King’s Basin. You 
know as well as I that if the river comes in we will 
have to get in there to protect our interests, for if 
those ranchers were wiped out our road wouldn’t sell 
for scrap iron. You couldn’t do it and the Greem 
field crowd wouldn’t. Why, that New York bunch, 
outside of Greenfield, don’t know whether the Colo- 
rado is a trout stream or a mill pond. Their actual 
investment doesn’t amount to half what you have put 
into your work, for the sale of water rights to the 
settlers is paying all the expense of their extensions 
and they won’t put up a cent to rebuild their shaky 
old structures. And look where we stand ! We have 
put more money into that country now than the Com- 
pany and you together, and we won’t pay operating 
expenses until the land is developed. And still the 
public is roaring about our rates. We don’t want 
another desert line on our hands.” 

Quietly Jefferson Worth sold his interest in the 
banks in Frontera, Barba and Republic; and as 
quietly Greenfield, who was watching, set about 
gaining control of these institutions. His South 
Central District water stock was already sold and 
most of his property in Barba. Even his little home 
in Republic was mortgaged. 

347 


THE WIHHIHG OE BARBARA WORTH 


Thus Worth held on for a while longer. He dared 
mot stop his work, for such a move would not only 
ruin his chances of negotiating the loans he needed, 
but by bringing upon him a swarm of creditors, 
would make it impossible for him ever to recover his 
standing in the financial world. 

Another pay day passed without the men receiving 
their pay and the third was drawing near. Already 
there was grumbling and complaining among the men 
over the delayed pay checks. It would take but little 
more to start serious trouble. 

There were many in the crowd at the depot that 
day when Jefferson Worth waited for the train to 
the city, who looked with envy upon the builder of 
towns and railroads. Horace P. Blanton proudly 
pointed out to a stranger “his friend, the Wizard of 
the Desert,” with the information that Mr. Worth 
had cleaned up a cool million in the new country. 
Several went out of their way for a closer look at 
him or for a possible greeting. Others cursed him 
roundly under their breath for a hated member of 
the class of parasites that live on the industry of the 
laborer, a financier who robbed the people, a capitalist 
who produced nothing. 

The train pulled in, and Mr. Worth, with a good-by 
to Barbara and Abe, who had come to see him off, 
stepped aboard. Ho one save Abe Lee, not even 
Barbara, knew that her father must raise fifty thou- 
sand dollars before the first of the month or suffer 
financial ruin. And no one — not even Jefferson 
Worth himself — knew where he could find the money. 

Barbara, when her father was gone, though she 


348 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

knew nothing of the danger that threatened him, was 
restless and ill at ease, beset by vague and nameless 
doubts and fears. The little desert town with its 
bustling activity, its clamorous, rushing disorder, its 
naked newness and glaring bareness, offended her. 
Nothing was completed. The streets, the buildings, 
the very people, seemed so unsettled, so temporary. 
She could not shake off the feeling that it would all 
vanish soon, as she had often seen the phantom cities 
of the desert plain melt and disappear. 

The morning after her father left, as she rode El 
Capitan slowly along the little village streets that lay 
so dusty and flat and that ended so quickly in the 
open country, she caught herself wondering how long 
the dream would endure. The farms, too, with their 
new green fields and their primitive, pioneer shacks, 
tent houses and shelters and their acres of still unim- 
proved land, all lying under the white blaze of the 
semi-tropical sun, were they more than a mirage 
weirdly painted in the air by the spirit of the dread- 
ful land to lure foolish men to their ruin ? 

Near the crossing of a canal she saw a zanjero 
turning the water through a new delivery gate into 
a new ditch, and checking El Capitan, she watched 
the brown flood rolling down the channel prepared 
for it and heard the dry earth hiss and purr as it 
sucked up the moisture with the thirst of a thousand 
years. She wanted to cry out a protest. The effort 
was so pitifully foolish. This awful, awful land 
would never yield to the men who sought to subdue 
it with such feeble means. From the little stream 
of water, no deeper than would reach to El Capitals 


349 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


knees and no wider than liis stride, she looked away 
and around over the seemingly endless miles of bar- 
ren waste. 

The man at the delivery gate recorded the number 
of inches in his book and, with a greeting to the 
young woman, mounted his horse and rode away 
along the canal. Barbara, moving on, left the farms 
behind and rode into the barren waste. This at least 
was real. This in its very desolation, its dreadful 
silence, its still menace, was satisfying. But as on 
that morning when she first rode El Capitan into the 
desert from Kingston, she grew afraid. The dreadful 
spirit of the land so pressed upon her that she turned 
her horse and fled as one might fly from an approach- 
ing storm. 

Another restless, unsatisfying day and a lonely 
evening dragged by. Texas and Pat she had not 
seen for a week. Even Abe had not been near her 
since her father left. To-morrow, she told herself, 
she would find them at their work and demand a 
reason for their neglect 

The next morning she set out on El Capitan to 
follow the line of her father’s railroad until she 
should find her neglectful men-folk. As she rode 
along the right-of-way jhe watched the hundreds of 
Mexican and Indian laborers at their work on the 
grade and thought of the men who had built the 
South Central Canal. Those men too had labored 
for her father, but they worked also for themselves. 
The canal they built was to reclaim their own land 
and to make for them farms and homes. These poor 
fellows on the railroad, she reflected, had no share m 

350 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


that which they were doing. There was in their toil 
nothing but the day’s wage. She could not feel, as 
she had felt in the South Central District, that she 
had a part with them in their work. Here and there 
she recognized a Mexican from Rubio City, and these 
returned her greeting pleasantly, for they remem- 
bered the young woman’s kindness to the poor. But 
by far the greater number gave her only sullen 
glances. She was to them only the daughter of the 
man for whom they toiled and who had not paid. 

Passing from gang to gang and camp to camp, 
watching the dark faces of the laborers, listening tr 
their sullen undertone, the young woman felt the rest' 
less, threatening spirit of the little army as one may 
feel sometimes the heavily charged atmosphere before 
an electric storm. But she did not understand. She 
had never before ridden over the railroad work alone 
as she had so often done in the South Central Dis- 
trict. 

She grew a little frightened at last at the scowling 
looks and muttered remarks that followed her as she 
went, and she was wishing that she had not come 
when she saw just ahead Abe Lee and Pat. The 
surveyor was giving some instructions to the Irish 
boss and both were so intent that they did not sed 
Barbara approaching. As the young woman drew 
quite near, a low-h^wed Mexican who, in watching 
her approach, either forgot the presence of his 
superiors or, in sheer ruffianly bravado, ignored them, 
uttered a coarse remark to his companions about his 
employer’s daughter. 

The young woman heard and turned pale as death 


351 


THE WIKNTj TO OF BARBARA WORTH 


Pat heard and, turning quickly around, caught sigh) 
of Barbara and saw the ruffian who had spoken look- 
ing at her. With a roar the Irishman leaped for- 
ward, and with a blow of his huge, hairy fist dropped 
the Mexican a senseless heap in the dirt. 

W 7 ith cries of rage the fellow’s countrymen ran 
toward the white man, drawing their knives as they 
came. Barbara sat leaning forward in her saddle 
breathless. Abe Lee was quietly rolling a cigarette. 
Pat stood motionless, his battle-scarred features set 
and his eyes shining like points of light. 

Within ten steps of their boss the little mob 
stopped. Then the Irishman spoke in a voice that 
rumbled and shook with menacing rage. “Ye, 
Manuel an’ Pedro — drag that carrion off the right- 
av-way, an’ tell him when he wakes up av he values 
his life to shtay out av rache av me two hands. The 
rest av ye hombres git the hell out av here !” 

The two whom he called by name did his bidding 
and the rest scattered like sheep. Pat turned to Bar- 
bara. “ ’Tis sorry I am that ye should see ut, me 
girl, but ut had to be done.” 

“Oh, Pat! Did you — Is he — ” She could not 
speak the word, but followed with frightened eyes- 
the still form of the unconscious man as his corrn 
panions half-dragged, half-carried him to the shade of 
a mesquite tree. 

“There, there, don’t worry,” said her big friend 
soothingly. “He’s not as much hurted as he should 
be. He’ll have a bit av a bump on his noodle that’ll 
maybe make him a bit careful wid his foul tongue 
for a while, that’s all.” 


352 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Barbara looked down into the face of the old glad- 
iator whose eyes, as they looked up at her, were soft 
as a childs. “Oh, Pat! Are you sure? He — -he 
crumpled up so ! It was awful !” She shuddered. 

“There, there ; av course I’m sure. Don’t I know ? 
Look at him; he’s sittin’ up now. He’ll be on his 
fate in a minute.” 

Sure enough, as Barbara looked again she saw the 
Mexican rising to a sitting posture and with his hand 
to his head look around in a dazed manner as though 
awakening out of a deep sleep. The young woman 
drew a long breath of relief and, with a faint smile, 
said to the surveyor, who had drawn nearer: “I’m 
sorry I came, Abe. I’m afraid you’ll think that I’m 
only in the way to make trouble. But I was so lone- 
some all alone at home.” 

“Why, Barbara, you know how glad we always are 
to see you. You must not mind this little incident. 
It’s all in the day’s work with Pat, you see. That 
fellow there has had this coming to him for some 
time.” 

The Irishman grinned and the young woman on 
the horse, with a little laugh, said : “All the same I 
don’t think I would like you for a boss, Uncle Pat, 
You’re too — too emphatic.” 

And the big Irishman with twinkling eyes 
retorted: “Sure av ye was boss av a gang ye wud 
break more hearts wid yer swate face than I could 
heads wid me two hands.” Which retort effectually 
closed the incident. 

When the three had chatted a while and Barbara 
had scolded them for not coming to see her, Abe said $ 


353 


THE WHSTNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


‘I think you had better go back now, Barbara. But 
don’t follow the line. Strike west over the desert 
until you come to the road and go in that way. We 
can’t leave now to go with you, and some of these 
greasers might get gay again. I’ll see you this 
evening.” 

It was after nine o’clock that night when the sur- 
veyor finally reached the Worth cottage. Somewhat 
awkwardly he entered and seated himself in the near- 
est chair, while Barbara, returning to her favorite 
rocker by the table, said: “It’s time you came. I 
was so lonely I don’t believe I could have stood it 
another hour. Really you and Pat and Tex have 
neglected me shamefully. You haven’t been near 
since the day father left. Even Pablo has forgotten 
me.” 

“Pablo is at the power house at Dry River,” Abe 
said slowly. “We’ve all had our hands full for the 
last three days. I reckon you know we have not 
stayed away because we wanted to.” 

Something in the man’s tone and manner caused 
Barbara to look at him closely. Was it a fancy in 
keeping with her gloomy spirit of the last few days, 
or did the surveyor’s tall form droop as if with dis- 
couragement? He was not looking at her with his 
usual straightforward manner. He seemed to be 
studying the pattern of the Havajo rug that lay 
between them, and certainly his lean, bronzed face 
wore a careworn look that was new. She noticed too 
that he wore belt and revolver, which was very 
unusual for Abe. 


354 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


“Of course; I know!” she exclaimed. “It was 
ehildish of me to complain. Forgive me.” 

Abe, without answering, looked at her — a straight, 
questioning, challenging look that for some reason 
brought another flush to her cheek. Then the sur- 
veyor turned his gaze again upon the Navajo rug. 

“I know you are tired,” said the young woman 
again. “You have so much to think about with ail 
those men to look after and daddy away. Come now ; 
you sit right over here in this easy chair and shut 
your eyes and smoke and forget all about the work 
and everything, while I make a little music for you.” 

Barbara did not realize how she tried this man 
of the desert with a glimpse of a heaven that Abe 
knew could never he for him. For a moment he sat 
motionless without answering, his eyes still fixed 
upon the floor. Then with a quick, resolute move- 
ment he threw up his head and straightened himself. 
“Pm sorry, Barbara, hut I can’t stay this evening.” 

“Can’t stay?” she cried. “Why, Abe, you just 
came !” 

“Yes, I know. I — I just ran in to ask you — to 
see if you” — he hesitated and stammered, then fin- 
ished desperately — “to ask you to let me send Texas 
to stay here to-night.” 

She looked at him in bewildered amazement. 
“Why, what in the world do you mean ? Why should 
Texas stay here to-night ?” 

Then as a sudden possible explanation came to 
her mind — “Abe, has Uncle Tex — - Is he in 
irouhle ?” 


355 


THE WISHING OF BARBARA WORTH 


The surveyor smiled at her words. “It’s nothing 
like that, Barbara. Tex is all right. But I don’t 
think that you should be left alone here with only 
Ynez just now. Pat is at the power house and I 
must be at the ice plant, and Tex — ” He checked 
himself in alarm. 

Barbara’s face was white and her eyes, fixed upon 
his, were big with sudden fear as, rising slowly to her 
feet, she went towards him. With an exclamation 
he sprang from his seat but she regained control of 
herself and, quietly taking another chair nearer him 5 
said: “I think you had better tell me, Abe, just 
exactly what the trouble is. I know something is 
wrong or you would not want to send Texas here to 
me. You know that I have always stayed with Ynez 
Why are you afraid for me? Why is Pat at the 
power house, and why are you going to stay at the ice 
plant? And why do you wear that?” She pointed 
to the heavy Colt’s revolver. 

Little by little she forced from the reluctant super 
intendent an explanation of the whole situation : ho^ 
her father had been driven by the Company to build 
the new town of Republic in addition to the construe* 
tion of his railroad to Barba and how conditions in 
the Basin had made it impossible to sell this line to 
the S. & C. as he had sold before. He told her as 
gently as he could that the men had not been paid 
for nearly two months, and that if her father did 
not succeed in raising the necessary funds quickly 
he would lose everything. The men had been put 
off from day to day with explanations that their 
employer was away and that they would receive their 

356 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


pay when he returned. But ugly rumors were afloat 
among them and their angry uneasiness and discon- 
tent were increasing. Threats against their employ ei 
and his property were being made by the hot-headed 
leaders, who always appear under such conditions, 
and the surveyor feared that serious trouble might 
start at any hour. 

To Barbara the situation was almost incredible. 
Again and again she exclaimed with pity for her 
father, and demanded to know why they had all kept 
her in ignorance of the truth ; and as she realized 
how lovingly she had been shielded from every worry 
that she might feel nothing of the burden that 
weighed so heavily upon them, her woman heart 
cried out that she had not been permitted to bear 
her share. 

“But I know now,” she said at last, brushing aside 
the tears that, against her will, filled the brown eyes. 
“I know now and you men shall see that I can do 
something to help.” She stood before him — her 
strong beautiful figure bravely erect, her face glowing 
with the light of a determined purpose. 

The surveyor smiled his appreciation as he said: 
“It’s almost as good as money in the bank to hear you 
talk like that, Barbara. But you’ll let me send Tex 
over to-night, won’t you ?” 

“You must do whatever you think best, Abe. But 
you must promise me this. From now on you will 
tell me everything, just as you have always told me 
about the work.” 

Abe drew a long breath. “I don’t know what 
your father will say but I’ll do it. I’ve felt all 

357 


THE WIHHHSTG OF BAKBARA WORTH 


along that it was hardly square to keep you in the 
dark.” 

“Of course it wasn’t,” she agreed. “And now 
listen! You and Pat come here for breakfast with 
Texas Joe and me. Come as early as you like.” 

He began to protest, saying that they would need 
to eat at daybreak in order to get back to the work 
by seven o’clock, but she silenced him with — “And 
do you think that I cannot even get up at sun-rise ? 
You shall not lose a minute’s time and it will do you 
good to start out with one of Ynez’s good break- 
fasts.” 

So the surveyor was forced to promise this also. 
Then with a soft “Buenos noches, Senorita,” he left 
her. 

Later Texas Joe came to sleep in Mr. Worth’s 
room. The night passed without incident, and when 
the first trace of silver gray light shone above the 
eastern mesa beyond the rim of the Basin Abe Lee 
returned with Pat to find the meal ready and Bar- 
bara waiting to pour the fragrant coffee. While the 
sky was still aflame with the colors of the morning 
and the desert lay under a curtain of fantastic 
figures and grotesque patterns woven by the light, 
the three men mounted their horses and set out for 
the field of the day’s labors. And Barbara at the gate 
watched them go until, in the distance, their forms 
too were caught in the magic of the desert’s loom and 
woven into the airy design. 

Before noon Abe came back. The men had struck. 
The surveyor had already sent a telegram to Mr. 
Worth and in the afternoon they had his answer that 

358 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


he was going to San Felipe. But there was no word 
of hope in the message. 

All that day the men from the railroad were gath- 
ering in the little town, and in the early evening the 
laborers from the power canal at Barba joined the 
throng on the streets. This dark-faced, scowling 
crowd of Mexicans and Indians was very different 
from the company of pioneers that met in Kingston 
to receive Jefferson Worth a few months before. On 
every hand they were heard cursing the man who 
owed them their wages and threatening to take 
revenge if they were not soon paid. 

That night Texas Joe again slept at the Worth 
cottage, for Barbara stoutly refused to leave her 
home, and Abe and Pat, with the little handful of 
white men from the office force, stood guard at the 
power house, the ice plant and the other buildings 
that were grouped near the railroad on the edge of 
town. 


CHAPTER XXV, 
WILLARD HOLMES ON TRIAL, 


S CARCELY had the train with Jefferson 
Worth aboard passed beyond the yard limits 
of Republic when the Manager of The 
King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Company in 
Kingston was called to the telephone by the cashier 
of the bank in the Company’s rival town. Ten 
minutes later a Western Union message in cipher 
went from Mr. Burk to James Greenfield in the city. 
The afternoon of the following day Willard 
Holmes, at the Dry River Heading, was called to the 
telephone. Mr. Burk was at the other end of the line, 
“There is a telegram here from your Uncle Jim 
ordering you to go to the city on the first train. If 
you can make it, catch the four-twenty at F rontera. 
I’ll pack your grip and give it to you when you go 
through.” 

Mr. Greenfield met the engineer at the depot in the 
city the next morning and escorted him to his rooms 
in a hotel. “I was almighty glad to get Burk’s wire 
that you were on the road,” said the older man. “I 
was afraid that he would not be able to find you in 
time; you go gadding about the country so. Where 
did he catch you ?” 

“Dry River Heading. My gadding takes me 
mostly there or to the intake heading these daya- 

360 



THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


J ust now I am trying to patch up the spillway which 
threatens to go out at any time altogether, and the 
heading itself is so shaky I’m almost afraid to touch 
it for fear it will fall down on top of me. No one 
ever dreamed that these structures would ever be 
called upon to stand the strain they are under now. 
I wish — ” 

“All right; all right, my boy; I think Eve heard 
you say something like that before. I called you in 
to help me on a little deal that will put us in shape 
to build all the new structures you want.” 

“You mean that the Company is at last going to 
make the appropriation I have been begging for ?” 

“Not exactly. They will if we can handle one 
individual.” 

“Who ?” 

“Jefferson Worth.” 

“Jefferson Worth? What under heaven has he to 
do with the Company’s appropriations ?” 

“He has a lot to do with the Company’s profits, 
which amounts to the same thing.” 

At this Holmes was silent and his uncle was forced 
to continue: “You know what Worth has been doing 
to the Company, don’t you ?” 

“Yes ; and I know what the Company has been try- 
ing to do to him.” 

“Exactly. And do you know his present situ- 
ation ?” 

“Only in a general way.” 

“Well, in a definite way then: he is here in the 
city trying to raise fifty thousand dollars. He must 
have it before the first of tHe month or go to smash. 


361 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


If he goes to smash the Company will be able to get 
hold of his interests, which will give us control of the 
whole King’s Basin project as we planned in the be- 
ginning. Then we would be able to put what you 
want into the system. If Worth gets the fifty thou- 
sand he is safe to make a million or two that would 
otherwise go to the Company and we wouldn’t feel 
justified in spending any more money on new struc- 
tures.” 

“But Uncle Jim, what on earth have I to do with 
all this?” 

“It happens that you have a whole lot to do with 
it my boy, or I wouldn’t have called you away from 
your beloved headings. You remember old George 
Cartwright, don’t you ?” 

Willard Holmes had grown to manhood with Cart- 
wright’s sons and his earliest memories were of boy- 
ish good times at the old gentleman’s home. With 
James Greenfield, Mr. Cartwright had been one of 
his father’s oldest and warmest friends. The engi- 
neer listened with amazed interest as Greenfield told 
him that his old friend was spending the winter on 
the coast, and that some one, the general manager of 
the S. & C., probably, had introduced Jefferson 
Worth to him. 

“And,” Greenfield finished, “they have him all 
lined up to furnish Worth with the capital he needs 
to go ahead. If he gets that money we will never be 
able to block him.” 

“But why don’t you get Cartwright into your 
crowd, if he is so ready to invest in reclamation 
projects?” asked the engineer. 


362 


THE WISHING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“X can’t on account of White and some of the 
others. You know how cranky the old man is. Be- 
sides, we don’t want him in the Company. What wo 
want is to block Jefferson Worth from getting hold of 
that money. I sent for you because you can do more 
with Cartwright on this proposition than any man 
living.” 

“You mean that you have sent for me to influence 
Mr. Cartwright against Jefferson Worth’s interests ?” 

“I mean that I expect you to use your influence in 
the interests of the Company — in my interests. 
Surely, Willard, that is not asking anything un- 
reasonable.” 

“But Uncle Jim, you just said that if Worth gets 
this help he will clean up a million or two. That 
looks like it would be safe enough for Mr. Cart- 
wright.” 

“Yes, and I said also that if Worth did not get 
that money the Company would acquire his interests 
in The King’s Basin.” 

While the Company president was speaking a mes- 
senger boy knocked at the door. Greenfield read the 
note and handed it to Holmes, who in turn read: 
“Mr. Cartwright left this afternoon for San Felipe. 
Will probably return in a week. Worth is still in 
town.” 

“That means you must take a little vacation, Wil- 
lard.” 

“But I can’t, Uncle Jim,” protested the engineer. 
“My work is in such shape that I — ” 

The older man interrupted. “Your work! You 
seem to think that there is nothing of importance to 


363 


THE WHSnSTHSTG OF BARBARA WORTH 


The King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Company but 
drops and headings and intakes and canals, and the 
Lord knows what else, you mess around with! If 
you handle old Cartwright in the interests of the 
Company it will be the best week’s work you ever did. 
He is likely to return any day, and you’ve got to stay 
right here and see this matter through.” 

All that day the engineer roamed about the city, 
striving to find distraction in the amusements offered 
but feeling strangely alone and out of place* Under 
other circumstances he would have keenly enjoyed the 
brief vacation and the change from the desert life 
and work, but now he could think of nothing but the 
situation in which he so unexpectedly found himself. 

Once he would not have hesitated an instant to do 
Greenfield’s bidding. Why should he hesitate now? 

Why, indeed; save for this — Willard Holmes knew 
that it would be better for the people in the new 
country if Jefferson Worth continued his operations. 

Willard Holmes’s conception and understanding of 
his work as an engineer had changed materially in 
the years since those first days with Barbara in Rubio 
City, even as, under his hand, the desert itself had 
changed. It may have been that in his long, lonely 
rides across the great plain in the white light of the 
wide, cloudless sky, something of the spirit of the 
slow, silent ages that had wrought in the making of 
the desert had touched his spirit as it could not have 
been influenced by the smoke-clouded atmosphere and 
crowded highways of the East; or that in the lonely 
nights under the stars the weird, mysterious voices 
of the desert had taught him truths he had never 


364 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


lieard in the noisy cries of the great cities. Perhaps, 
as he had looked day after day across the wide far- 
reaching miles with their seas and scarfs and veils of 
color to the purple mountains, the very greatness of 
the unpeopled lands forced him to a larger thinking 
and planning and dreaming than would have been 
possible in the limited views of his eastern homeland ; 
or that the spirit of the hardy settlers awoke the blood 
of his own pioneer ancestors to a feeling of fellow- 
ship ; or his constant struggle’ with the river aroused 
the old conquering spirit of his race. Or again it 
might be that some powerful chord, deep-hidden and 
silent in his nature, had been touched by the spirit of 
the girl who had bidden him learn the language of 
her country and who had said that she could never 
forgive one who was untrue to the work itself. 

On the other hand there was the training of his 
whole professional career. Up to the beginning of 
The King’s Basin work the engineer had known no 
other creed than the creed of those corporation serv- 
ants who have no higher interest than that of the 
machine they serve. There was also his intimate 
relation with Mr. Greenfield and the debt of grati- 
tude he owed the man who had, in every way, been 
a father to him. And there was the prejudice of class, 
the instinct that holds a man to his own peculiar 
people, and the argument cleverly advanced by Green- 
field that the protection of The King’s Basin project 
would be secured. 

As the engineer was wandering, in the aimless and 
preoccupied manner of one whose mind is not on his 
task, through one of the city parks, he saw just ahead 

365 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


a man whose figure seemed familiar. With aroused 
interest he quickened his pace. There was no mis- 
taking that form, so strongly upright, so instinct with 
vigorous power; nor those broad shoulders and the 
finely poised head. It was the Seer. 

Overtaking the older engineer, Holmes greeted him 
eagerly and the brown eyes of the old Chief shone 
with pleasure while he returned the young man’s 
greeting heartily. 

Had the Seer any engagement that afternoon ? 

None at all. He had just arrived from the North 
Country and was loafing a day or two. And Holmes ? 

The younger man laughed. He was a stranger in 
a strange land, forced by circumstances to do nothing. 

Good. They would find a quiet corner somewhere 
and Holmes could tell his old Chief about The King’s 
Basin work. Also The King’s Basin man could te^ 
the Seer about Barbara. 

So they found a seat and Willard Holmes told how 
splendidly the Seer’s dream was coming true, and in 
answer to many questions talked of Barbara and her 
life in the new country, of Jefferson Worth and his 
operations, and of some of his own professional diffi- 
culties and problems. And the Seer, as he led the 
younger man on and studied the strong bronzed face 
that was all aglow with enthusiasm over the work, 
smiled quietly as he remembered the tenderfoot w r ho 
had once threatened to report his Chief to the Com * 
pany. 

Brave, great-hearted, generous Seer! There was 
in all his questioning not a hint of any feeling against 
the younger man who had been given the place that 

3 


THE WINDING OE BARBARA WORTH 


should have been his. He fell to wondering if after 
all the Company had now in Holmes the man they 
thought they had, or the man they did have, indeed, 
when they made him their chief engineer. If the 
test were to come now — The Seer did not know that 
Willard Holmes was even then undergoing that test. 

The two men dined together that evening and 
afterwards over the cigars in the Seer’s room the old 
engineer talked of the progress and future of the 
great Reclamation work, of its value not only to our 
own nation but to the over-crowded nations beyond 
the seas, and of its place in the great forward march 
of the race. Then gravely he spoke to the younger 
man of his own efforts to bring the work to the atten- 
tion of the people, of disappointments and failures, 
year after year, until at last the work in Barbara’s 
Desert had been launched, and following that several 
other projects until now at last reclamation had 
become a great national enterprise. And Willard 
Holmes knew that out of the millions that would be 
realized from these reclaimed lands this man, who 
had seen the vision, would receive nothing. The 
Seer had not even a position with an irrigation com- 
pany or with a reclamation project. 

As he listened to the man who had literally given 
the best of his life to a great work, the Company 
engineer felt as he sometimes felt when alone in the 
heart of the desert itself he heard its call, the call 
that was at once a challei^Je, a threat and a promise ; 
or as when he had felt the sweet power of Barbara’s 
presence. 

At his hotel Holmes found the president of The 

307 


THE WINNING OF BARB AKA WORTH 


King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Company anx= 
iously awaiting him: “Look here!” was Greenfield’s 
greeting. “This thing is approaching a climax.” 

He handed the engineer a telegram from Burk, 
Willard Holmes glanced at the yellow slip of paper* 
“Strike on the K. B. C. Looks serious.” 

“Jefferson Worth left for San Felipe this after- 
noon,” Greenfield said quickly. “There’s another 
train in thirty minutes. We mustn’t miss it!” 


368 


CHAPTER XXVI. 
HELD IN SUSPENSE. 


H EORGE CARTWRIGHT, the retired Hew 
York capitalist, belonged to that older 
school of American financiers who, having 
built up large fortunes by taking advantage of the 
speculative opportunities of their day, look somewhat 
doubtfully from the pinnacle of a successful old age 
upon the same adventurous spirit when shown by the 
active younger generation. George Cartwright was 
ready to take a chance, certainly. He had taken 
chances all his life. But George Cartwright dis- 
trusted mightily what he called the “slap-dash, smash- 
bang’ J system of the modern manipulators of capital. 
Some day, he predicted, the manipulators themselves 
would go “smash-bang” along with their methods. 

Though retired from the rush and drive of active 
business, the veteran still enjoyed taking an occa- 
sional hand in the game, though more than ever he 
played that hand with a dignified leisure befitting 
the stake. “A business transaction,” said he, “was 
not something to be put through with a nod and wink 
or at most a half dozen monosyllables between as 
many bites of a sandwich.” 

Jefferson Worth was in desperate need of quick 
action. He was not playing a game of business for 
the mere pleasure of playing. He was fighting for 


369 



THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


his financial life and every hour’s delay increased his 
peril. But Jefferson Worth did not need his railroad 
friend’s warning that an attempt to rush George 
Cartwright would be disastrous. The old financier 
was not at all backward in making known to Jeffer- 
son Worth his opinions of Jim Greenfield and the 
men associated with him in the Company. He had 
had some experience with them not altogether satis- 
factory to himself. But an investment in actual 
improvement and development enterprises, such as he 
understood Mr. Worth to be promoting, -was rather 
an attractive venture. He was going for a week’s 
trip to San Felipe and when he returned he would 
take the matter up. 

Barbara’s father could not urge his need of imme- 
diate relief, for to do so would have been to destroy 
his only hope. So he was forced to await the New 
York man’s pleasure. Nor was Mr. Worth ignorant 
of Greenfield’s efforts as indicated by the presence 
of Willard Holmes in the city. He knew also the 
high regard that Cartwright held for the engineer 
and that he would place great value upon the Com- 
pany man’s opinion. What would Willard Holmes 
do? 

Abe Lee’s telegram announcing the strike and the 
critical situation in the Basin changed conditions 
instantly. Now Jefferson Worth’s only hope was to 
get to Cartwright without delay and to present the 
urgent need of immediate action. For while the 
chances that the old capitalist would come to the 
rescue were greatly lessened, Jefferson Worth’s 
financial ruin was certain if the critical situation at 


370 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

home was not relieved instantly. Sending the tele- 
gram to Abe Lee he took the first train for San 
Felipe. It was indeed a forlorn hope. 

Mr. Worth’s train arrived in San Felipe about 
eleven o’clock in the morning. Scanning the register 
at the principal hotel he found the eastern man’s 
name, but the clerk informed him that Mr. Cart- 
wright was out for the day sight-seeing with a party 
of friends from New York and would not likely 
return until late in the evening. 

No one observing the quiet, gray-faced man who 
waited in the hotel lobby that evening could have 
said that there was more on his mind than a mild 
interest in the evening paper. Yet Jefferson Worth 
was reading an account of The King’s Basin strike= 
Fin>-hing the article, he dropped the paper on his 
knef while the slim fingers of his right hand sought 
his ihin with a nervous, caressing motion and his 
expressionless eyes moved continually over the crowd 
ir the big room. Outside, the depot ’bus had just 
shopped in front of the hotel and a company of newly 
arrived guests were entering the corridor, while the 
bell-boys were running forward to relieve them of 
dieir luggage and lead them to the spick-and-span 
Jerk behind the register. 

First of the group Jefferson Worth saw the portly, 
well-groomed president of The King’s Basin Land 
and Irrigation Company and with him his athletic, 
bronzed-faced chief engineer. 

Even as the two were talking with the clerk and, 
as Worth rightly guessed, asking for Mr. Cartwright, 
the old gentleman with his party of friends entered, 

371 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


At a word from the man behind the desk Greenfield 
and Holmes turned to greet the entering capitalist 
and his party. They were all New Yorkers — ac- 
quaintances and friends. Coming together with the 
svidth of the continent between them and their homes, 
their greetings were cordial — joyful — even boisterous. 
And as they parted to follow the waiting bell-boys 
to their rooms, the western pioneer banker heard 
them agreeing to meet and dine together a few 
minutes later. 

Jefferson Worth realized that a business interview 
with Mr. Cartwright that evening was impossible. 
Without visible interest in anything else he raised 
his paper again and continued reading. 

The next morning when the New York capitalist 
stepped from the elevator on his way to breakfast - 
he found himself face to face with the man who so 
desperately needed financial assistance. “Why, how 
do you do, Mr. Worth. When did you land in San 
Felipe ?” Cartwright’s tone seemed to subtly change 
his commonplace question into — “Why are you in 
San Felipe?” 

Jefferson Worth’s answer was straightforward. “I 
arrived yesterday. Conditions have arisen that make 
it necessary for me to see you at once.” 

The old veteran looked straight into Jefferson 
Worth’s face with the understanding of one who had 
himself passed through many a financial crisis when 
the issue depended upon time gained or lost. Some- 
times the wheel of Fortune turns with dizzy speed. 

“Certainly, Mr. Worth. Come to my room in half 


372 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


an hour,” he answered quickly and as quickly moved 
away. 

When The King’s Basin man had placed the 
situation fairly before him and the old financier had 
asked a number of pertinent questions, he said : “Mr 0 
Worth, I understand that neither the value nor the 
safety of my investment is necessarily impaired 
because you have a situation on your hands demand* 
ing immediate relief. I can see that the capital you 
ask me to put into your enterprise will relieve the 
situation at once and enable you to place the whole 
business upon a solid foundation. If you fail to 
raise this money, or if you get it too late, you go to 
the wall and I lose a chance for what seems a profit- 
able investment. As I told you, legitimate promo- 
tion of actual development projects has always been 
attractive to me, but I want to examine into matters 
a little further before I give you my final answer 0 
Frankly I want to ask the opinion of Willard 
Holmes. I would not place too much confidence in 
Mr. Greenfield’s judgment, or rather, I should say, 
in any advice that he would give me in this particular 
matter. But I have known Willard from babyhood. 
I knew his father and the whole family, and I would 
be guided by his opinion as an engineer of conditions 
in the new country in which you are all interested. 
Fortunately Holmes is here in the hotel. Let me 
have a little talk with him and I’ll give you my 
answer without delay.” 

Writing a brief note asking the engineer to come 
to his room, he summoned a boy and directed him to 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


deliver the message immediately. A few minutes 
later Jefferson Worth, in the lobby, saw the boy 
approach Holmes, who was with Greenfield. The 
engineer took the note from the boy, glanced at it 
and handed it to his companion. For a moment they 
stood in earnest conversation; then the engineer 
turned and moved away. 

'Jefferson Worth saw him enter the elevator, sqm 
the ornamented iron door close and the cage glide 
smoothly upward. 

James Greenfield, confident, self-possessed, with 
the air of one whose position and future are secure, 
jovially greeted one of the New York party, who 
came up on Holmes’s departure, and the two stood 
laughing and chatting over their cigars. 

Jefferson Worth sat alone in a secluded comer ei 
the lobby. 




Av 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

ABE LEE'S RIDE TO SAVE JEFFERSON WORTR 

jnjjSBlHE evening that Jefferson Worth spent in 
U||ni the San Felipe hotel lobby, apparently 
Oliri absorbed in his paper while Greenfield, 
Holmes and Cartwright with their Hew York friends 
were enjoying their dinner, Barbara and her court 
had their anxious supper together in the Worth home. 

The night that followed was one of wakeful readi- 
ness on the part of the men who guarded the Worth 
property. But the strikers seemed content to curse 
and threaten. Breakfast the next morning, in spite 
of Barbara’s efforts at cheerfulness, was a gloomy 
meal. Worn with their anxious vigil the men ate in 
silence, save when they forced themselves to respond 
to their young hostess’s attempts at conversation* 
They knew that another day of idleness would fit the 
striking laborers for reckless action. 

When the meal was over Barbara insisted that they 
must get some sleep. They protested, but she argued 
rightly that there was nothing else that they could 
do and lhat they must keep themselves fit for a 
possible need of their strength later. So she brought 
comforts and blankets for a bed on the floor in the 
little sitting room and, drawing the shades, an- 
nounced that she would take her sewing to the front 
porch while they slept. 


375 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Three hours passed and a boy arrived from the 
telegraph office with a message addressed to Abe Lee, 
Speaking in low tones that the tired men within 
might not be disturbed, Barbara said that she would 
hand the message to Mr. Lee, who was in the house, 
and signed her name in the book. Then as the boy 
went down the walk the young woman, with trem- 
bling fingers, tore open the yellow envelope. 

The message read: “Money to-day by wire from 
Tenth National Bank, New York. Pay men and go 
on with work. I leave for home to-night ten-thirty, 

Jefferson Worth.” 

Barbara and her Desert had won against the Com* 
pany through Willard Holmes, but Barbara did not 
know that. 

Behind her, as she stood with the yellow slip in 
her hand, the sitting room door opened softly and 
turning she saw Abe standing on the threshold. The 
alert surveyor had been aroused by the coming of the 
messenger. Even before she spoke her face told him 
the good news. 

Abe went at once to notify the strikers that they 
would receive their pay on the morrow without faiL 
To several of the leaders he exhibited the telegram 
with Mr. Worth’s instructions: “Pay men and go 
on with work,” and they in turn verified to their 
countrymen the good news. As the word went around, 
the dark scowling faces were lighted with satisfaction 
and pleased anticipation, curses and threats were 
silenced in laughter and merry talk. In a short hour 
or two the little army of striking laborers that had 
for days been in a mood for any violence became & 

376 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


good natured crowd bent on enjoying to the full their 
abort holiday. 

Barbara insisted on serving dinner for her three 
friends, and with the strike practically settled and 
the weary strain of the situation removed the four 
made the meal a jolly one. When they could eat no 
more they still sat idling at the table, reluctant to 
break the spell of their companionship. 

Texas Joe, leaning back in his chair, with his slow 
smile drawled in an inconsequential way: “I 
reckon, now that the financial obsequies of Mr. Jeff 
ferson Worth has been indefinitely postponed owin’ 
to the corpse refusin’ to perform, that Company 
bunch will wear mournin’ because said funeral didn’t 
come off as per schedule. Them roosters are sure a 
humorous lot.” 

“Of course they will be sorry, Uncle Tex,” said 
Barbara. “It’s Good Business, you know, to want 
your competitor to fail.” 

The old plainsman shook his head. “I sure don’t 
sabe this financierin’ game, honey, but I’m stakin’ 
my pile on your dad just the same.” 

“Well,” said Pat, “we’re all glad on Mr. Worth’s 
account, av course, that ut’s over as aisy as ut is. But 
for mesilf, av ut was all the same to him an’ to ye 
Barbara, I’d be wishin’ the danged greasers ’d kape 
on a shtr ikin’ so long as ye wud lave me put my 
fate under yer table.” 

They all laughed at Pat’s sentiments, which the 
other two men endorsed most heartily. Then the 
surveyor with his two helpers went up town. 

Stopping at the bank and showing the cashier his 

377 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


message from Mr. Worth, Abe asked if he had heard 
from New York. 

Before answering, the man picked up a telegram 
from his desk and scanned it thoughtfully. “No,” 
said Greenfield’s cashier, as if against his will; “we 
have heard nothing to-day.” 

Just before the close of banking hours the surveyor 
again called at the bank. “Any news from New 
York yet ?” 

“Yes. We had their wire just after you left.” 

“Well?” asked Abe impatiently. “Isn’t it all 
right ?” 

“It’s all right, Mr. Lee, except that we were forced 
to answer that we could not handle the business.” 

The surveyor searched his pockets for tobacco and 
cigarette papers. “I think you’d better explain, Mr. 
Williams.” 

Again the cashier hesitated, turning thoughtfully 
to the telegram on his desk. Then he said reluctantly : 
“It is Mr. Greenfield’s orders, Lee.” 

With a cloud of smoke from Abe’s lips came the 
question : “And the other hanks in the Basin ?” 

“You would only waste your time.” 

“Thanks, Williams. Adios.” 

Abe Lee walked slowly out of the building. Moving 
aimlessly down the street, unseeing and unheeding, 
he ran fairly into Pat and Texas, who were talking 
with a rancher from the South Central District. 

The voice of the Irishman aroused him. “Fwhat 
the hell ! Is ut dhrunk ye are ?” Then, as he caught 
a good look at the surveyor’s face — “For the love av 
Gawd, fwhat’s wrong wid ye, lad ?” 

d78 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


The rancher also was looking at him curiously 
Abe gained control of himself instantly with an 
apologetic langh. “Excuse me, Pat. I was thinking 
about the work and didn’t see you. There’s a little 
matter that I want to take up with you this after- 
noon. I’ll be too busy for it to-morrow.” 

The rancher, with another word or two, turned 
away. Then Abe, in a low tone, exclaimed: “Let’s 
get away from the crowd quick, where we can talk.” 

They started down the street and instinctively their 
feet turned toward Jefferson Worth’s home instead 
of toward the office. As they went Abe explained 
the situation. Pat cursed the bank and James Green- 
field and the Company with no light weight curses. 

“Hell will sure be a-poppin’ when them greasers 
don’t get their pay checks, as we’ve been promisin' 
them,” drawled Texas Joe, shaking his head mourn- 
fully. “Eor regular unexpectedness this here finan- 
cierin’ business gets me plumb locoed. What will 
you do, Abe ? Greenfield sure takes this trick, don’t 
he?” 

They had reached the gate of the Worth home and 
had paused as people sometimes will when engaged 
in conversation of absorbing interest. Before Abe 
could answer Texas, Barbara, who sat on the porch, 
called laughingly: “What’s the matter with you 
men? Are you hungry again? Why don’t you 
come in?” 

In consternation the three looked blankly at each 
other. Pat growled another curse under his breath., 
Texas shook his head doubtfully. Abe groaned i 
“She’ll have to know, boys.” 

379 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Slowly they went up the walk and Barbara, as 
they drew near, did not need words to tell her that 
something seriously wrong had happened. 

When Abe had explained it in as few words as 
possible she said: “But it will only be for a few 
days.” 

“A few days will be too late,” said Abe bluntly. 
“We have promised these greasers and Indians that 
we will pay to-morrow without fail. When we don’t 
pay, on top of all the trouble we have had, no explana- 
tion will stand. They’ll go on the warpath sure. If 
they were white men it would be different.” 

“Well, why don’t you telegraph father and let him 
bring the money or send it by express from San 
Felipe?” 

“But he couldn’t get the cash started before to-mor- 
row afternoon. Then it would have to go around by 
the city and wouldn’t get here until three days later. 
Williams didn’t tell me, you see, until he knew that 
the San Felipe bank would be closed before I could 
get a message through.” 

They sat in troubled silence — Pat in sullen rage, 
Texas squatting on his heels cow-boy fashion, Abe 
pulling at a cigarette, Barbara leaning forward in 
her chair. Three hours before they had been so merry 
because the trouble was over; now they faced a 
situation many times more perilous than before. 

With a quick gesture of decision Abe tossed aside 
his cigarette. “Tex, where is that buckskin horse of 
yours ?” 

“In Clark’s stable. Want him?” 


380 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“Yes. Give him a good feed and bring him here 
as soon as he is ready. Bring one feed and a canteen, 
and while the horse is eating go around to my room 
and get my gun.” 

Without a question the old plainsman left the 
group and walked swiftly away. 

Barbara puzzled for a moment then asked : “Are 
you sending Tex to San Felipe for the money, Abe ?” 

“I am going myself. Tex will be needed here. 
He’s worth three of me at this end of the game. 
To-day is Wednesday. That buckskin will make it 
to San Felipe in twenty-six hours. That will be 
to-morrow evening. If your father can have the 
money ready I should be back here by Friday night.” 

While speaking he was tearing a leaf from his 
note book. Quickly he wrote a message to Jefferson 
Worth. “Pat, take this to the telegraph office and 
make them rush it. It must catch Mr. Worth before 
he leaves at ten-thirty to-night.” 

Barbara sprang to her feet. “Oh, please let me 
go. Let me do something.” 

Abe handed her the slip of paper with a smile. 
“If you don’t mind I will take a nap in your father’s 
room. And will you ask Ynez to have a bite to eat 
ready for me with a sandwich or two that I can slip 
into my pocket. Pat, you stay here and don’t let 
anyone disturb me until five-thirty. Then call me 
sure. Tex will be here with the horse by that time.” 
With the last word he disappeared into the house. 

When Pat called him he was sleeping soundly. 
Barbara had sent the telegram and with her own 


381 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


hands prepared his supper and a lunch. While he 
ate, the surveyor gave brief instructions to his two 
helpers. 

Then Barbara went with him to the gate where 
the buckskin horse, one of that tough, wiry, half-wild 
breed native to the western plains, waited, head 
down with bridle reins hanging to the ground. As 
Abe tightened the cinch and took his spurs from the 
saddle horn, the girl went closer to his side. “I wish 
you did not have to go,” she said as he stooped to 
put on a spur. 

He straightened up and looked at her. The brown 
eyes regarded him seriously. “Why, Barbara! you 
are not afraid ? Texas and Pat will be here.” 

“It’s not myself, Abe; it’s you,” she answered* 
“You have had such a hard time since this trouble 
began and now this long, lonely ride. I wish there 
was some other way.” 

Stooping quickly so that she might not see his 
face he adjusted the other spur with trembling 
fingers. 

“I shall think of you every minute, Abe,” said the 
young woman softly. 

The strap of the spur required several ineffectual 
efforts before the man could fasten it on the steel 
button. At length it was on and, rising again, he 
threw the bridle reins over the horse’s head, holding 
them in his left hand on the animal’s neck. Barbara 
came still closer and with her finger traced the design 
carved on the heavy Mexican saddle. “You will be 
careful, won’t you, Abe?” 

The hand on the horse’s neck tightened on the 

382 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


reins as the surveyor looked straight into the young 
woman’s eyes a moment as if searching for something 
that he knew was not there. Then he held out his 
free hand, saying in Spanish with a smile : “Adios> 
sister.” 

Giving him her hand she answered in the same 
soft musical tongue : “Adios, my brother.” 

Turning he put his foot in the stirrup and, with 
the easy graceful swing of the western horseman, he 
mounted and the buckskin, as his rider lifted the 
bridle reins, struck at once into the long lazy lope 
of his kind. 

Leisurely Abe Lee rode along the main street of 
the little town. The strikers, idling in front of the 
stores, leaning against the buildings or awning posts, 
squatting on their heels on the sidewalks, or sitting 
in rows on the curbing, saw him pass without interest. 
If they thought anything it was that the superin 
tendent was going to Kingston on some business or 
other for their employer, Senor Worth, or that 
to-morrow the man on the buckskin horse would give 
them the slips of paper that they would take to the 
senor at the bank, who would give them their money. 

Still riding leisurely, Abe left behind the town, 
that Jefferson Worth had built in the barren desert 
and passed the newly improved ranches on the out- 
skirts. Without hurry, even checking his horse to a 
shuffling fox-trot at times, he reached Kingston. 

From the window of his office in the Company 
building Mr. Burk saw the horseman as he passed* 
and the Company manager, who was paid for think 
ing, shifted his cigar to one corner of his mouth and* 

383 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


tilting his head, grew thoughtful while the buckskin 
horse carried his rider out of Kingston toward the 
south. 

Reaching the old San Felipe trail the surveyor 
swung his horse to the west and, leaving behind all 
that man had so far wrought in La Palma de la Mano 
de Dios, rode straight toward the mountain wall that 
in grim barrenness and forbidding solitude had stood 
sentinel through the unnumbered ages, shutting out 
from the land of death the world of life that lay on 
the other side. As that mighty wall had from the 
beginning turned back every moisture-laden cloud 
from the thirsty, starving land, so it seemed now to 
impose itself as an impassable barrier against the 
man who rode to save the work of Jefferson Worth. 

The buckskin horse, as if realizing that this was 
no jaunt of ten or twenty miles, held to his steady, 
machine-like lope that measured the distance of each 
swing with the accurate regularity of a pendulum; 
while the lean, loose body of his rider, resting easily 
in the saddle, yielded without resistance to the 
horse’s every movement so that those laboring 
muscles, working so smoothly under the yellow hide, 
might not be called upon to adjust themselves to the 
sudden strain of unexpected changes in balance. Mile 
after mile of the dun plain slipped away under those 
apparently slow-measuring hoofs at surprising speed. 
How and then, at the slightest signal from Abe, the 
gait was changed from a lope to that easy shuffling 
fox-trot that lifted the dust in a great yellow cloud. 

Straight ahead the rider saw the sun go slowly 
down behind the mountain wall. He watched the 


384 


' THE WINKING OF BARBARA WORTH 


purple shadows that he knew were canyons deepen, 
and the blue that he knew to be shoulders and spurs 
and points change and darken until every detail was 
lost in the slate gray mass, while against the light 
that lingered in the west every tooth, knob and peak 
of the sky-line showed a sharp, clean-cut silhouette. 
He saw the colors of the desert fade and melt as the 
dark mantle of the night was drawn quietly over the 
plain. He heard the night voices of the desert awak- 
ening and sensed the soft breathing of the lonely 
land. And in his nostrils was the indescribable odor 
of the ancient sea-bed that, for uncounted thousands 
of years, had lain under a blazing sun and scorching 
wind and mistless nights, knowing no touch of human 
life save the passing presence of those who dared to 
follow that one thin trail. 

And always with that dogged regularity the sandy 
miles were being measured by those steady hoofs. At 
Wolf Wells, as the last faint tinge of light went out 
of the sky beyond the black mass of No Man’s Moun- 
tains, Abe drew rein for the first time. Dismounting, 
he slipped the bit from the horse’s mouth and the 
animal plunged his nose deep into the refreshing 
water. The buckskin, with the blood of his wild 
ancestors strong in his veins, was no dainty, tenderly- 
nourished aristocrat that needed to be rested, cooled 
and blanketed before he could slake his thirst. With- 
out pausing he drank his fill and then, lifting his 
head, drew one long, deep breath of satisfaction and 
stood ready. 

In the dark Abe felt his saddle girths, then ran 
his hand over the moist warm neck and slapped the 


385 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


strong hips approvingly. “Good hoy, Buck! Good. 
Qld boy!” Without thought of further rest they went 
Dn— -on — and on, without pause or check save the 
occasional change in gait from the swinging lope to 
the shuffling fox-trot, until they reached the line of 
the ancient beach, and the buckskin, with head down, 
labored heavily up the steep grade to the Mesa. 

It was at this point, years before, that the four 
men and the boy had stopped to look away over the 
awe-inspiring scenes of wide sky, measureless plain, 
rolling sand hills, dream lakes and ever-changing seas 
of color, all hidden now in the blackness of the night. 

In the dark, hall-like Devil’s Canyon the sound of 
the horse’s feet echoed and re-echoed sharply from 
the rock walls, while the darkness was so thick that 
Abe could not see the animal’s head. 

At Mountain Spring, where travelers into the 
desert always filled their water barrels, Abe stopped 
again. It was a little past midnight. Loosing the 
saddle girth and removing the bridle, the surveyor 
let his horse drink and, taking a sack with his one 
feed of rolled barley, he deftly converted it into a 
rude nose-bag by cutting a strip in each side two- 
thirds the length of the sack and tying it over the 
horse’s head. After eating his own lunch the sur- 
veyor stretched himself out flat on his back on the 
ground with every muscle relaxed. The sound of the 
horse munching his feed ceased; the animal’s head 
dropped lower, and he too — wise in the wisdom of 
the open country — relaxed his muscles and rested. 

For an hour they remained there, then again the 
bridle was adjusted, the saddle girths tightened, and 


386 


THE WIHNIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


&feey went one But the gait was not so measured 
iiow nor the pac^ sc steady, for they were well intc 
the mountains? climbing toward the summit. But 
still there was no pause for breath no relief for the 
^training muscles of the horse or for the weary 
aching body of the rider. 

Crossing over the summit at last they were on tht 
long western slope of the range with much better 
going, and the buckskin again carried his rider 
swiftly on while the thud and ring of the iron-shod 
hoofs on the rock strewn road aroused the echoes in 
the dark and lonely hills. 

Hour after hour of the long night passed with nc 
sound to break the silence save the sound of the 
horsed feet, the rattle of bridle chains, the clink of 
spur or the creak of saddle leather. And when the 
gray of the morning came they were in the foot hills. 
Behind them the mountains — a bare and forbidding 
wall on the desert side — lifted ridge upon ridge with 
the green of pine on the heights, oak on the slopes 
and benches, and sycamore in the lower canyons. 
Streams of bright water tumbled merrily down their 
clean rocky courses or rested in quiet pools in the cold 
shadows* Before them spread the beautiful Coast 
country, sloping with many a dip and hollow and 
rolling ridge and rounding hill westward to the sea. 

At the first ranch house they stopped. A short 
hour’s rest with breakfast for man and horse, and 
they were away again. For dinner Abe drew rein in 
a beautiful little village in the heart of the rich 
farming country and at four o’clock, from the sum- 
mit of a low hill, he saw the ocean, with the smoke 

387 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


of San Felipe dark against the blue of sky and 
water. There were yet three hours of riding. The tired 
man straightened himself in the saddle, the horse 
felt the motion and responded with a slight quicken- 
ing of the movements of those wonderful muscles 
that still worked so steadily and smoothly under the 
buckskin coat. The animal seemed to realize with the 
man that the end of the journey was in sight. Yet it 
would take another hour and another of that steady, 
measured lope and the easy shuffling fox-trot. 

The sun was dipping downward now toward the 
ocean’s rim, and sea and sky were a blaze of glorious 
light; while on that dazzling background sail and 
mast and roof and steeple were painted black with 
edges of yellow flame. The horse, with the dogged, 
determined spirit of his breed, was drawing upon 
the last of his strength — the strength that had 
brought them so many miles without faltering. But 
still he answered gamely to the lifting of the reins 
with that measured, swinging lope. 

But as he watched the sun go down, Abe Lee for- 
got his weariness, forgot his aching muscles, and 
stiffened limbs. He remembered only that miles away 
in the little desert town there vras a mob of striking 
Mexicans and Indian laborers who, disappointed and 
enraged at not receiving their promised pay, would 
be ready now for any deed that promised to satisfy 
their blind desire for vengeance. He knew that no 
explanations Tvould be accepted. No plea for patience 
would be heard. They could not understand. In 
their eyes they had been tricked, fooled, cheated, 
defrauded of their just dues. They knew no better 

388 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


jw&y to redress their wrongs than the primitive way 
—to destroy* to injure* perhaps to kill. And Barbara 
-Barbara wm there. If only they would let that 
•■/•'■e sight pass! If only Tbs and Pat and the little 
•'•'andfui of white men could hold them oft a few 
sore hours until he could get back. 

Until fee could- get back! But what if Jefferson 
•?orfch had not .received the telegram before he left 
■Bm Felipe f What if there should be a still further 
May in getting the money f 
Through the lighted streets of the harbor city the 
■Mackskin and his rider finally made their way. A 
policeman, looking suspiciously at the dust-begrimed, 
sweat-caked, trembling horse that stood with legs 
traced wide and drooping head, and at the haggard- 
-laced rider, directed the surveyor to the hotel a block 
away, and then stood watching them m they moved 
skwly toward the end of the rids. 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 

WHAT THE COMPANY MAN TOLD THE MEXICANS 

OK7JHILE Barbara and her three friends at home 
lllSy were giving over the message from Jeffer* 
refill son Worth telling them that he had secured 
the money needed to go on with the work, Willard 
Holmes was alone in his room in the San Felipe 
hotel. 

Following the engineer’s interview with Mr, Cart 
wright, he had passed through a stormy scene with 
James Greenfield and the words of the president o# 
The King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Company 
were ringing in his ears with painful monotony 
"'Discharged — discharged — discharged !” 

For the first time in his life the engineer had heard 
those words addressed to himself. He could not rid 
himself of the feeling that he had come suddenly to 
the end of Ms career. 

All his life Willard Holmes had had back of him 
the powerful influence of his foster uncle. Positions 
and opportunities had come to him from the first 
without effort on Ms part. Notwithstanding the fact 
that Ms ability as an engineer was naturally of a 
high order and that his training was of the best, he 
had never been dependent wholly upon these things. 
Other and stronger considerations had always give© 
Mm Ms pls©&. For the first time in his life he faced* 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


the world of his profession with nothing but his 
naked ability as an engineer to speak for him, while 
his abrupt dismissal from the Company compelled 
him to realize with sudden force how over-shadowed 
his work had always been by outside influences and 
how dependent he had been upon them. He felt lost 
and bewildered, knowing not which way to turn. His 
future seemed a blank. He had been anxious and 
eager to get back to his work in the Basin. But he 
had not realized how much that work meant to him — - 
how his plans, his dreams, his whole life work had 
become centered in the reclamation of The King’s 
Basin Desert. 

If his dismissal had come from anything connected 
with his work, he told himself, it would be different. 
He thought bitterly how he had struggled with insuffi 
cient equipment and inadequate makeshifts of every 
kind to hold the Company system together that the 
pioneers might have the water, without which the 
work of reclamation could not be done. He knew every 
stake and pile and plank and crack and patch in the 
whole system. He had learned the tricks of the river 
and was familiar with the conditions peculiar to the 
desert country. He knew the terrible danger of the 
flood season that was only two months away. He 
had planned and prepared to meet emergencies that 
would be sure to arise. 

And now, because he had refused to deliver the 
settlers wholly into the hands of these New York 
capitalists, who cared nothing at all for the real work 
save as it could be made to increase their money 
bags, he was turned out. There was now no reasoB 

391 


THE WINNING OF BAEBAEA WOETH 


even for his return to The King’s Basin. Why, he 
asked himself, should he go back ? To see some other 
man doing his work? To watch as an outsider the 
development of the land? or perhaps — as was more 
likely — to stand idly by and watch its destruction? 

But even as he told himself that he could not do 
that, he knew that he would go back ; that, indeed, he 
must go. The desert called him — summoned him 
imperatively ; — the desert, and something else : some- 
thing that was as mysteriously impelling as the spirit 
of the land; something that had grown into his life 
even as his work had grown ; something that seemed 
to him now a part of his work from the beginning. 

All that day the engineer avoided Greenfield and 
his eastern friends. In the evening he dined alone 
and after the meal sat alone in the hotel lobby with 
his back to the crowd, watching through the big win- 
dow the life of the street outside — watching without 
seeing. Moodily he pulled at his cigar, his thoughts 
far away in Barbara’s Desert where, unknown to 
him, Abe Lee on the buckskin horse was riding — 
riding — riding to save the work of Jefferson Worth, 

His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of Jef 
ferson Worth himself, who, seeing the engineer alone, 
had gone to him. Holmes, drawing another chair 
close to his, greeted Barbara’s father with eager 
questions. “Have you heard from home ? Is every 
thing all right?” 

The older man accepted the chair by the engineer^ 
side and answered his questions by saying: “Mr, 
Cartwright instructed his Hew York bankers to wire 
this money to my account in Eepublic. I notified 


392 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Abe to pay the men to-morrow and go on with the 
work.” 

It was characteristic of Jefferson Worth that he 
did not attempt to thank Holmes for his part in the 
transaction with Cartwright, but in some subtle way 
the engineer was made to feel his gratitude and 
appreciation. After a pause Worth continued: “I 
am going to start back to-night on the ten-thirty c 
When are you figuring on going back ?” 

The engineer smiled grimly. “I can’t figure on 
anything definite just now, Mr. Worth. I might as 
well tell you, I suppose, that I am no longer con 
nected with the Company.” 

The announcement did not appear to be unexpected 
to Jefferson Worth, but his slim fingers caressed his 
chin as he said: “I was afraid of that. Have yon 
anything in view ?” 

'Holmes felt that not only had Worth foreseen the 
situation, but that he had already set in motion some 
movement to relieve it. “No, sir. It came so sud- 
denly that I have scarcely had time to think.” 

“I figured some time ago that the Company would 
not be able to hold you much longer,” was the sur- 
prising comment. “The S. & C. has been looking 
for a good man to put down in our country for some 
time. Your experience on the river would make you 
particularly valuable to them under existing condi- 
tions. I told them about you. They have been hold- 
ing off waiting developments. If I were you I would 
get in toucn with them at once. You can go up to 
the city with me to-night. We will stop over and 
look into the proposition and then if it is all right 


393 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


and agreeable to you we can go on home together/ 
Jefferson Worth seemed to understand perfectly the 
engineer’s desire to return to The King’s Basin. 

Before Holmes could express his delight and grati 
tude at the unexpected relief, a call-boy, passing 
among the guests, shouted: “Mr. Jefferson Worth! 
Mr. Jefferson Worth!” 

The banker opened the message, read it, then— - 
without a word — handed the yellow slip to his com= 
panion. The engineer read : “Banks in Basin won’t 
accept New York business. Can’t handle pay checks, 
Abe Lee starting for San Felipe overland to-night* 
Have money and fresh horse ready. Barbara.” 

Holmes looked in consternation from the paper in 
his hand to Barbara’s father. The face of Jefferson 
Worth expressed nothing. It was perfectly calm and 
emotionless, only the slim fingers were lifted to the 
chin as if behind that gray mask the mind of the man 
was groping, seizing, searching, examining every 
phase of the situation so suddenly confronting him. 
In answer to the engineer’s questioning look he spoke 
in colorless words, with machine-like exactness, as if 
the matter under consideration were a mere mathe- 
matical problem presented for his solution. “The 
Company owns the banks. Greenfield went into the 
telegraph office this morning as Cartwright and I 
came out. Abe would get my message by nine o’clock. 
The banks would get Greenfield’s instructions the 
same time. Abe would at once promise the men their 
money to-morrow. That cashier didn’t tell him they 
couldn’t handle the business until too late for him 
to get me before the banks closed here. Greenfield 


394 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


is playing for time so that the strikers will make 
trouble. Abe has it figured out right. He can get 
here and back before I could get the money to him 
by train. He should reach here to-morrow night* 
There is nothing to do except to see Cartwright this 
evening so that he can wire Hew York to-night and 
I can get the cash through the bank here before Abe 
gets in to-morrow.” 

As he grasped the situation and the methods Green- 
field had employed to injure Worth’s interests, the 
engineer’s eyes flashed. “Mr. Worth,” he cried, 
“that is the dirtiest trick I ever saw turned.” 

“It’s business, Mr. Holmes. Mr. Greenfield is 
merely using his advantage, that’s all.” 

The methods of The King’s Basin Land and Irri- 
gation Company in La Palma de la Mano de Dios 
were the methods of capital, impersonal, inhuman — 
the methods of a force governed by laws as fixed as 
the laws of nature, neither cruel nor kind; incom 
siderate of man’s misery or happiness, his life or 
death; using man for its own ends — profit, as men 
use water and soil and sun and air. The methods of 
Jefferson Worth were the methods of a man laboring 
with his brother men, sharing their hardships, shar- 
ing their returns ; a man using money as a workman 
uses his tools to fashion and build and develop, 
adding thus to the welfare of human kind. It was 
inevitable that the Company and Jefferson Worth 
should war. 

James Greenfield served Capital; Jefferson Worth 
sought to make Capital serve the race. But in the 
career of each of these men, who had been driven 


395 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


by the master passion — Good Business, into The 
Hollow of God’s Hand, the dominant influence was 
a life. In the career of Jefferson Worth it was 
Barbara. In the career of James Greenfield it was 
Willard Holmes. 

In The King’s Basin reclamation work, the New 
York financier, whose relation to Willard Holmes 
was a tribute to his love for the engineer’s mother^ 
felt that in some way — for some cause which he could 
not understand — the younger man was growing away 
from him. Their relation of employer and employe 
seemed to mar the close intimacy of the old ties, and 
the older man looked forward eagerly to the time 
when his business plans should be carried to a sue 
eessful climax and they would both leave the West 
for their eastern home. That morning in the hotels, 
when he saw Holmes go with Cartwright to Jefferson 
Worth and by that knew that the engineer had used 
his influence against the interests of the Company ? 
he was astonished and hurt. He felt that the boy 
whom he had reared as his own had turned against 
him. As the president of the Company he abruptly 
discharged the engineer, for he could do nothing else. 
As the foster-father of Willard Holmes, he was still 
proud of the younger man’s strength of character, 
for under all his anger at being thwarted in his plan 
against Worth he knew in his heart that the engineer 
had done right. 

As the day passed and the engineer did not seek 
his company, while Greenfield’s own stubborn pride 
forbade him to go to Holmes, the older man’s heart 
grew more and more lonely. That evening, when he 

396 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

saw Jefferson Worth and Holmes together in earnest 
conversation and through all of the following day 
saw them apparently associated intimately in some 
plan or enterprise, for the first time personal feeling 
entered into his consideration of the whole situation. 
He felt that his business rival had become his rival 
for the affections of the boy he loved. The business 
victories of Jefferson Worth he could accept without 
feeling ; but that this man — a stranger — should come 
between him and his foster-son, the child of the 
woman he had loved with lifelong fidelity, stirred him 
to a vicious, personal hatred. 

At dusk that, evening he saw Holmes and Worth 
dining together. When the meal was over he sat in 
the lobby, ostensibly chatting with friends, but cov- 
ertly watching the two who seemed to be awaiting 
someone. Suddenly he saw them rise quickly and 
start toward the main entrance. A dusty, khaki-clad 
man of the desert was entering the hotel. Tall, lean, 
bronzed, his face haggard and strained with anxiety, 
his eyes blood-shot through loss of sleep, his figure 
expressing in every line and movement deadly weari- 
ness and aching muscles, he strode forward into the 
hotel lobby, his spurs clinking on the white tile floor. 

Greenfield recognized Abe Lee and grasped the 
situation instantly. The president of The King’s 
Basin Land and Irrigation Company knew why the 
surveyor had come to San Felipe and he knew what 
he would carry back. If the money to pay the strikers 
reached its destination, Jefferson Worth would win; 
if not 

At half past nine o’clock that evening the thought- 

397 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


ful Manager of The King’s Basin Land and Irriga* 
tion Company received a cipher message from his 
superior that drew a long, low whistle from his lips. 
For almost an hour he considered with an occasional 
quiet curse. Then, because he was a good Company 
man, he put on his hat and strolled leisurely down 
the street of Kingston, apparently enjoying his even- 
ing cigar. Once he stopped to greet a belated rancher. 
Again he paused to chat a moment with a citizen. 
Once more he halted to exchange a word with a group 
of Company men, and later stopped to greet three 
Mexicans who were in from the Company’s camps. 

The Manager asked of the work — if all was well. 

“Si : Senor.” 

Then naturally Mr. Burk inquired for news of 
their countrymen, the strikers of Republic. 

The Mexicans, coming from the distant camp, 
could tell him nothing. They had heard little. Could 
Senor Burk tell them of the situation ? 

The Manager was quite sure that everything would 
be all right with the men on Jefferson Worth’s rail- 
road day after to-morrow. 

That was “bueno.” 

Yes, Mr. Worth’s superintendent was starting 
from San Felipe that very evening with money — 
thousands of dollars, x\merican gold — to pay the 
men. He was coming alone through the mountains 
on horseback. Without doubt the men would receive 
their pay. The Manager was glad ! 

“Si, Senor.” 

“Gracias, Senor!” 

“Buenos noches !” 

“Good night.” 


398 


CHAPTER XXIX. 

TELL BARBARA I’M ALL RIGHT 


Abe Lee, after twenty-six hard hours 
le saddle, dismounted in front of the 
Felipe hotel and entered the lobby his 
usually perfect nerves were strained almost to the 
breaking point. For weeks the surveyor had carried 
the burden of Jefferson Worth’s financial condition 
as if it were hir own. With the prospect of seeing 
the work he loved better than his life wrecked and 
taken over by the Company, he had for days faced 
the critical situation of the strike. Then, in the very 
hour of relief, the situation had become seemingly 
hopeless. Abe Lee, better than anyone, knew the 
temper of the Mexican and Indian strikers. He 
realized fully how great the chances were that at the 
very moment when he finished his ride for relief the 
town of Republic was the scene of tragic violence. 

If Jefferson Worth had left San Felipe ignorant 
of the failure of his effort to relieve the dangerous 
situation at home, or if by some chance the money! 
so desperately needed was not ready, Abe knew that 
the cause was lost. The Company would triumph. 

As he entered the hotel his eyes, searching eagerly 
for his employer, fell first on James Greenfield. With 
a movement wholly involuntary the hand of the over- 
wrought desert man came to rest on his hip close to 

399 



THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


the heavy Colt’s forty-five. Then he saw Jeffersor 
Worth and Willard Holmes moving towards him. 

When a man feels himself hard-pressed in a fight 
and is struggling desperately to hold his ground, he 
has small thought for the trifling courtesies demanded 
by custom. Without returning the greetings of the 
two men and instinctively drawing apart from 
Holmes, the surveyor shot a single question at hie 
employer. “Have you got it ?” 

“Everything is all right,” answered Jefferson 
Worth, and with his words something of his calm 
confidence went to Abe Lee. 

When the two men reached Worth’s apartment the 
surveyor, without hesitation, began stripping off hie 
clothes. “I want a good bath first,” he said. “And 
while I am at it will you please have a good thick 
beefsteak cooked rare and sent up here? Then I’ll 
sleep for a couple of hours. That buckskin of Texas 
Joe’s is standing in front of the hotel. He’s about 
all in. I wish that you would see that he is cared 
for.” 

As he finished speaking the tall lean figure of the 
surveyor disappeared through the bath room door 
Mr. Worth sent the order for his superintendent’s 
supper to the cook with a sum of money that insured 
immediate and careful attention. Then with his own 
hands he led the buckskin horse to a barn where the 
animal would have the care he had so well earned. 

When Mr. Worth returned to the hotel he opened 
the door of his room softly. There was a tray of 
smpty dishes on the table, an odor of cigarette smoke 


400 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


in the atmosphere, and in his employer’s bed the 
surveyor, sound asleep. Abe Lee understood the value 
of every moment even in taking rest. 

Two hours later Mr. Worth, going again to his 
room, found that the surveyor had just finished 
dressing. With a smile the financier handed Abe a 
slip of yellow paper. It was a message from Barbara 
saying that so far all was well at home, and concluded 
with the words : “Love to Abe.” 

Without a word Abe turned away to buckle about 
his hips the broad cartridge belt with its worn holster 
and his big black gun. But Barbara’s father did not 
see him slip the bit of yellow paper into the pocket 
of his blue flannel shirt. 

Then Mr. Worth gave the surveyor a black leather 
bill-book stuffed to its utmost capacity and secured 
with rubber bands. “Here it is,” he said. 

Abe stored the package in an inner pocket of his 
khaki coat and was ready. 

At the barn they found Willard Holmes waiting 
with two horses. The engineer wore a new belt, 
holster and revolver. When he had greeted them he 
said : “Well, are we all ready ? I have a lunch hem 
Is there anything else ?” 

Abe looked at him questioningly and turned to Mr 0 
Worth. 

“Mr. Holmes is going back with you,” said the 
banker. 

For an instant the surveyor hesitated. But some- 
thing in his employer’s tone caused him to withhold 
any objection, and with no comment he turned to 


401 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Inspect the horses. The animals were of the same 
tough breed as the buckskin. “They’re all right, are 
they ?” Abe asked of the liveryman. 

“You can see for yourself,” came the answer. 
“You know the kind. The’ ain’t nothin’ can outlast 
’em, an’ Mr. Worth said that was what he wanted.” 

“We will need one feed apiece,” said Abe. “Put 
it in two sacks, you know.” 

“Sure,” returned the man. “I’d a-had it ready 
but this here gentleman didn’t tell me.” 

While the liveryman was preparing the grain Abe 
examined saddles and cinches. “Are your stirrups 
right?” he asked Holmes. 

“I think so.” 

“You’d better know . We don’t want to stop to 
monkey around in the dark.” 

The barn man grinned, with a wink at the sur- 
veyor, as the engineer decided, after trying, that he 
had better shorten the straps a hole. Abe silently 
assisted him in adjusting them. Then — swinging 
into his saddle — the surveyor said to his employer 
as the horses moved ahead: “Good-by, sir. Wire 
little sister that I’m coming.” 

Along the lighted city streets they rode at a pace 
that seemed to Willard Holmes more fitting for 
ladies’ gentle exercise than for two men bound on an 
errand against time. The eastern man urged his 
horse ahead, but his companion held back and Holmes 
was forced to check his speed and wait for the other 
to come up with him. To the engineer’s attempts at 
conversation the other answered only in monosyllables 
>r not at all. 


402 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

There had been no opportunity for Mr. Worth to 
explain to Abe the engineer’s part in helping him to 
secure the money from Cartwright and the consequent 
discharge of Holmes by Greenfield. To the surveyor’s 
mind his companion belonged to the enemy. He 
could not understand why — with the victory or defeat 
of Jefferson Worth in his fight with the Company 
hanging upon his superintendent’s mission — the 
Company’s chief engineer should volunteer to accom- 
pany him. The presence of Greenfield and Holmes 
in San Felipe, the action of the banks controlled by 
the Company, made it clear to Abe that they under- 
stood the dangerous situation of Mr. Worth and his 
urgent need of immediate relief. The Company had 
everything to gain if the arrival of the money at the 
scene of the strike could be delayed even for a few 
hours. But Abe had seen that it was Jefferson 
Worth’s wish that Holmes go with him and the sur- 
veyor could not, in the presence of Holmes, discuss 
the question. 

On his part Holmes felt the antagonism of his 
silent companion but could not guess the reason^ 
while Abe’s attitude of aloofness prevented the engi- 
neer from making any explanation. He told himself 
that the surveyor was naturally over-wrought with 
the mental and physical strain of his long ride, and 
that later, at some more opportune time, when they 
halted for lunch and rest perhaps, they would come 
to a more agreeable spirit of companionship. 

But he could not content himself with the slow 
pace when there was such evident need of haste. It 
was all a mistake, he thought, for the man already 


403 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


wearied to undertake the return trip. A fresh rider 
was as necessary as a fresh horse. The surveyor was 
evidently too exhausted to push on at the necessary 
speed and Holmes felt that it fell upon him to set 
the pace and thus force his companion to the exertion 
required. So he continued urging his horse ahead 
while Abe’s mount, held back by his rider, tugged 
at the reins and grew restless, and the horse of 
Holmes, now started sharply forward, now pulled 
down almost to a standstill, became equally uneasy., 
So they rode out of the city beyond the lights and 
movement of the streets into the stillness and the 
darkness of the night. 

At last as Holmes again touched his horse with 
the spur, making him bound several lengths ahead, 
and again pulled him down waiting for Abe to over- 
take him, the western man broke the long silence. 
“You’ll have to quit that, Mr. Holmes,” he said 
somewhat sharply. 

The engineer did not understand. “Quit what?” 

“Breaking ahead like that. I’ll set the pace for 
this trip.” 

“You don’t seem to be in any hurry,” retorted 
Holmes, nettled by the surveyor’s tone. 

“I ain’t. Not in that kind of a hurry.” 

“But look here, Abe. Don’t you know that Mr. 
Worth expects us to make the trip in the shortest 
possible time? WVve got to get that money into 
Republic to-morrow evening, and before if we cam 
There is too much at stake to poke along like this.” 

Abe reflected. The Company man certainly under- 
stood the situation. Aloud he said : “I think I know 


404 


'THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


what Jefferson Worth wants, Mr. Holmes, and I 
reckon you’ll have to trust me to carry out his wishes. 
I know the distance ; I know this road ; and I know 
horse flesh a little. At the rate you’re trying to go 
you’ll be afoot before noon to-morrow. You can ride 
your own horse down if you want to, but you can’t 
hinder me by fretting mine into unnecessary exer- 
tion. He’ll need every ounce of his strength and 
I’m going tc see that he doesn’t waste any of it- 
Either push ahead out of sight and hearing as fast 
as you please, or turn back ; but if you ride with me 
you’ll quit this monkey business and ride quietly at 
the gait I set.” 

Willard Holmes instantly saw the force of the 
western man’s words. “I beg your pardon, Lee,” he 
said. “Of course you know best. I’m so anxious 
over this business that I’m acting like a fool.” 

After that companionship was a little easier, but 
under the circumstances the one topic most on the 
mind of each was carefully avoided. At midnight 
they stopped at the crossing of a stream to water and 
feed, and Abe showed his companion how to make a 
nosebag out of the sack in which his grain was 
carried. 

Daybreak found them in the foothills. At the 
ranch where Abe had been accommodated the morn- 
ing before they again halted for breakfast. With 
another feed for the horses tied behind their saddles, 
they began the long climb of the western slope of 
the mountains and about four o’clock in the after- 
noon had crossed over the summit and reached the 
spring at the head of Devil’s Canyon — the last water 


405 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


they would find until they reached Wolf Wells in 
the desert. 

When they dismounted at the watering place some 
two hundred yards off the trail, the surveyor, after 
slipping the bit from his horse’s mouth and loosening 
the saddle girth, moved slowly about the little glen, 
his eyes on the ground. Holmes, standing by the 
horses which had their muzzles deep in the cool water, 
watched his companion wearily. “Lost something?” 
he asked, as Abe continued moving cautiously about. 

“Hot yet,” came the laconic reply. 

“Well, what the deuce are you looking for then ?” 

Abe, coming back to arrange the feed for his horse, 
looked closely at his companion but made no answer* 

When the two men had thrown themselves on the 
grass to eat their lunch the surveyor, between bites 
of his sandwich, carefully scanned the mountain side 
and the mouth of the canyon below. Suddenly reach- 
ing out his hand he picked up a burnt cigarette butt 
and regarded it intently, while the engineer watched 
him with curious, amused interest. 

“What the deuce is the matter, Abe ? You act like 
one of Cooper’s Leather-Stocking heroes. What’s the 
matter with that cigarette stub ?” 

The man of the desert, knowing nothing of Cooper, 
did not smile but answered shortly, eyeing the engi- 
neer as he spoke : “It ain’t dry. There was a party 
at this watering place not more than three hours 
ago.” 

“Well, what of it? This is government property. 
Probably somebody ahead of us going into the new 
country to locate.” 


406 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“There’s been nobody ahead of us all day.” 

“How do you know that ?” 

Abe shrugged his shoulders, “How do I know th&7 
■fc party of five or six watered here since noon V 5 

“Perhaps it’s someone going out.” 

“Did we meet anyone ? This is the only trail,” 

“Well, maybe it was a party of prospectors of 
hunters- They would not follow the road.” 

“They would have pack burros or mules. Nothing 

but horses in this bunch. They ” The surveyor 

turned his head quickly to look up the hilL His ear 
had caught the sound of a horse’s feet on the moun- 
tain road above. 

Holmes, looking also, saw a horseman ride leis- 
urely around the turn and down the grade toward 
the canyon. Silently they watched and as the new- 
comer came nearer they saw that he was a Mexican, 
When the traveler reached the point where he should 
have turned aside to the water he did not pause but 
jogged steadily past. “By George!” exclaimed 
Holmes, “I believe that’s one of our greasers from 
the outfit in Number Eight.” 

“I know it is,” said Abe. “Perhaps you can make 
a guess as to what he’s doing here and why he didn’t 
stop for water.” As the surveyor spoke he was roll- 
ing a cigarette, and from the cloud of smoke he 
watched the Mexican ride down the mountain side 
and disappear between the narrow walls of Devil’s 
Canyon. 

“I’m sure I don’t know what he’s doing. He 
seems to be going toward the desert. There might 


407 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


be a hundred different reasons why he should have 
been out somewhere.” 

“There’s only one reason why he didn’t stop for 
water at this place.” 

“What’s that?” 

“He had already watered.” 

“But there has been no chance for miles back !” 

“He watered here.” 

Holmes spoke sharply. Abe’s manner irritated 
him. “I don’t see how you know.” 

“Because this is the only water for twenty miles 
going either way.” 

“But you said you thought there was a party of 
five or six.” 

“I know there are five or six.” 

“Where are the others, then, if this man was one of 
the party?” 

“I don’t know exactly where they are, but I can 
guess.” 

By this time Willard Holmes had come to see that 
to his companion there was a great deal more in the 
common-place incident than the surveyor chose to put 
into words. Abe, throwing away his cigarette and 
rolling another with his long-practiced fingers* 
seemed to be striving to arrive at some conclusion 
about something that to the engineer was all very 
much in the dark. 

Aggravated by the reticence of his companion. 
Holmes burst forth with : “For heaven’s sake ! Abe, 
open up. What’s on your mind ? What’s the matte 
anyway? What’s all this about?” 


408 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Abe faced the engineer with a straight, hard look 
“Don’t you know what it’s all about ?” 

“So far as I can see it’s all about nothing at alL 
Tell me.” 

“Well, Mr. Holmes, 1 will. But I’m not sure yet 
that it will be news to you. The rest of the gang 
that watered here is down in Devil’s Canyon waiting 
for us. They were here something like three hours 
ago. After watering, one of them went on over the 
ridge to watch for us and the others went back down 
the canyon. They knew that we would stop here 
to feed and water and that the lookout could jog 
along past, apparently minding his own business, 
and tell ’em that we were coming.” 

“You mean it’s a hold-up ?” cried Holmes, in some 
excitement. 

“That’s what I would call it. Your Company 
would probably call it intercepting Mr. Worth’s mes- 
senger.” 

“The Company? What has the Company to do 
with it?” 

“Greenfield and you were in San Felipe. You 
knew what I went after. You know that the chances 
are big that Jefferson Worth will go to smash if I 
don’t make it to Republic to-night, and that greaser 
is a Company man.” 

In a flash Holmes saw the whole situation from 
his companion’s point of view and understood the 
surveyor’s suspicions. At the same time the engineer 
realized that it was now too late for him to explain 
his presence or that he was no longer connected with 


409 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


the Company. In his perplexity and chagrin and in 
the suddenness of it all he said the worst thing pos- 
sible. “Well, what are you going to do about it ?” 

Abe’s voice was hard. “I’m not going to take any 
fool chances. This may be a plain ordinary case of 
hold-up or it may be a job framed up by the Company 
simply to delay me. It’s all the same to me, but this 
money goes to Republic to-night. Sabe that V 9 

The other would have spoken but Abe interrupted. 

“We’ve palavered long enough, Mr. Holmes. The 
horses have finished their feed and it’s time to start.” 

When they were mounted the surveyor said 
shortly: “Now, sir, you just ride ahead and you 
ride slow until I give the word — then you go like 
hell. If you lift a hand to signal or make any mis- 
takes like stopping to fix your saddle girth or check- 
ing up to speak to that bunch or turning ’round, I 
get you first and you can’t afford to have any hazy 
notions about my not wanting to kill you because 
you’re from New York. If you’re square you can 
make good on those Company greasers down there and 
I’ll apologize afterwards. If you’re in this deal with 
your damned Company, you’ll stop drawing your 
salary right here and there won’t be any funeral 
expenses for them to pay either! Go ahead.” 

“Just a word first,” and Abe saw that the engineer 
was as cool as a veteran. “Granting that you are 
right about that crowd being down there to stop us, 
if anything should happen to you tell me how to get 
into Republic with the money. You will be taking 
ao chances with that at least.” 

“Follow the trail to the telephone line. You know 


410 


THE WINNING OF BARBAEA WORTH 


it from there. There’s water at Wolf Wells. Give 
your horse a drink hut don’t wait to rest. You can 
push him from now on as hard as you like. You 
should make it to Republic in six hours from here. 
Give the money to Miss Worth. Anything else ?” 

Holmes replied by turning in his saddle and mov- 
ing ahead. Abe followed, his horse’s nose even with 
the flank of the animal in the lead. 

Easily they jogged ahead down the grade toward 
the narrow throat of the canyon. A hundred yards 
from where two points of jutting rock in the walls of 
the mountain hallway leave an opening not more than 
fifty feet wide, Holmes, with the slightest turn of his 
head, spoke over his shoulder. “I see a man’s face 
looking around that point of rock on the right.” 

“Re ready when I give the word.” 

“Won’t they pot us ?” 

“Hot if they can get the drop. They’ll turn u§ 
loose on the desert.” 

“Shall I shoot?” 

Behind the engineer’s back Abe smiled grimly. 
“When they halt us and I give the word, cut loose if 
you want to. I’ll take all on the left.” 

The distance lessened to a hundred feet. 

Suddenly from the left three mounted Mexicans 
pushed into the road and from the right two more. 

Even as they threw up their guns and called? 
“Alto — Halt!” Abe gave the word: 

“How!” 

The two white men drove their spurs deep into 
their horses’ flanks, throwing themselves forward in 
their saddles with the same motion. With mad 


411 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


plunges the animals leaped toward the highwaymen. 
Even as he spoke Abe’s gun had cracked thrice ir 
quick succession — the Mexicans firing at about the 
same instant. Two of the horsemen on the left went 
down and the surveyor reeled almost out of his sad- 
dle. But Holmes did not see. His own revolver 
barked a prompt second to Abe’s, and on his side a 
Mexican went over clutching at his saddle horn. The 
horses of the Mexicans were rearing and plunging. 
The quick reports of the revolvers echoed viciously 
from the rocky walls. 

But the white men went through. Down the rocky 
hallway they raced, side by side now, as hard as their 
maddened horses could run. A moment to slip fresh 
cartridges into his cylinder and Holmes cried to his 
companion: “Good stuff, old man! Go on; I’ll 
hold ’em.” And before Abe could grasp his purpose 
he had jerked his horse to his haunches and, wheel- 
ing, faced back up the canyon and disappeared 
around a turn. 

Even as the surveyor was trying to check his own 
horse — a tough-mouthed brute — another rattling vol- 
ley of revolver shots echoed down the canyon. By 
the time Abe had succeeded in turning his stubborn 
mount Holmes re-appeared. 

“All over!” the engineer sang out, as his com- 
panion wheeled again and rode beside him. “Two 
of ’em were coming after us. I got one and the other 
turned tail.” He winced with pain as he spoke, 
“They presented me with a little souvenir, though.” 

Abe saw that his left arm was swinging looseiyc 


412 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“You are hurt,” he said sharply, reining up his 
horse. “Where is it?” 

“Here, in my shoulder. It don’t amount to any- 
thing. Let’s get on to water and I’ll fix it up.” 
With the word the engineer, whose mount had also 
stopped, started ahead. The horse went a few steps 
and stumbled — struggled to regain his feet — stag- 
gered weakly a few steps farther — stumbled again 
— and went down. As he fell Holmes sprang clear 
The animal raised his head, made another attempt to 
rise and dropped back. Another bullet from the last 
encounter had found a mark. 

The dismounted engineer, who stood as if dazed, 
staring at his dead horse, was aroused by the voice 
of Abe Lee. “It looks like we’d got all that was com- 
ing to us this trip.” 

At his companion’s tone Holmes looked up quickly* 
The surveyor’s lips were white and his face was 
drawn with pain. 

The man on the ground sprang toward him with 
a startled exclamation. “You too; Abe! Where 
is it?” 

“My leg, on the other side.” 

Quickly the engineer went around Lee’s horse' to 
find the leg of the surveyor’s khaki trousers darkly 
stained with blood. “Get down,” he commanded 
and, reaching with his uninjured arm, almost lifted 
his companion from the saddle. An examination 
revealed an ugly hole in the surveyor’s thigh. With 
handkerchiefs and some strips cut from the engineer’s 
coat they dressed their wounds as best they could. 
When they had finished, Holmes straightened up and 


413 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


looked around. Behind them was the bold mountain 
wall, grim and forbidding; on either hand the dry, 
barren Mesa; and ahead the miles and miles of 
desert. 

As if in answer to his thoughts the man on the 
ground said grimly: “This is hell now, ain’t it? 
Mr. Holmes, I’ll make that apology. If you please, 
would you mind shaking hands with me ?” 

Willard Holmes grasped the out-stretched hand 
cordially. “You did just right, old man. It was the 
only thing you could do. But I want to tell you 
quick, before anything else happens that I’m not a 
Company man any more.” 

“Not a Company man ?” 

“Greenfield fired me because I helped Jefferson 
Worth to interest the capitalist who is furnishing 
him the money he needs.” 

For a moment Abe Lee looked at the engineer in 
silence ; then his pale lips twisted into a smile. “Mr 
Holmes, would you mind shaking hands again ?” 

With a laugh the engineer once more held out his 
hand. Then he asked seriously: “How are we 
going to get out of this, Abe ?” 

IJhe smile was already gone from the surveyor’s 
face. He answered slowly, with dogged determina- 
tion in his voice. “We’ve got to get this money to 
Republic to-night. It’s the only thing that will stop 
those cholos and Cocop ahs. We’ll make it to water 
together, then you can go on. Help me up !” 

With the engineer’s assistance Abe managed to 
gain his seat in the saddle, Holmes mounting behind^ 


414 


THE WINKING OF BARBARA WORTH 

and thus they made their way down into the Basin 
and to Wolf Wells. 

There Holmes helped his companion from the 
horse and to the shade of a mesquite tree near the 
water hole, where he stood over him as he lay on the 
ground, protesting vigorously against leaving him 
alone in the desert. But the surveyor argued him 
down. “I couldn’t possibly make it if we had 
another horse,” he said. “I’m down and out. There’ll 
be hell to pay in Republic to-night, even if the boys 
have held them off this long. The money’s got to 
get there this evening. You can reach there by ten 
o’clock and send a wagon back for me. Don’t you 
see there’s no other way?” He held out the black 
leather bill-book with the rubber bands. “Here, take 
this and go on. Go on, man ! What’s a night in the 
desert to me ?” 

“But those greasers may come this way.” 

“They won’t. But if they should I have my gun, 
haven’t I, and I’ll see them before they see me. Go 
on, I tell you. We’ve lost too much time already. 
Think of that mob and Barbara. You’ve got to go, 
Holmes.” 

The engineer turned towards his horse. “Good-by, 
old man.” 

“Adios. Tell Barbara I’m all right.” 

Abe Lee watched the loping horse grow smaller 
and smaller in the distance, then watched the cloud 
of dust that lifted from the trail to hang all golden 
in the last of the light. Turning he saw the summit 
of the mountain wall sharply defined against the sky* 


415 


THE WINNING OF BAEBAEA WOETH 


With a groan his form relaxed. He closed his eyes 
He was indeed down and out. 

The desert night fell softly over the wide, thirstj 
plain. The snarling coyote chorus came out of the 
gloom. Out there Willard Holmes was riding — - 
riding — riding — along the old San Felipe trail 
Away over there, somewhere under those stars, Bar 
bara was waiting his return. He remembered her 
parting words and how he had failed to find in her 
eyes that which he had longed to see. He felt for the 
paper in the pocket of his shirt: “Love to Abe.” 
She would never have sent that message had her love 
been other than it was. Abe Lee, born and reared 
in the desert, was not the kind of man to deceive 
himself. For his work and for the woman whose life 
was so strangely and closely bound up with it he had 
given the utmost limit of his strength. And now 
another man would finish the ride and go to her with 
the prize. Not that it would make any difference to 
Barbara, but somehow it mattered a great deal tc 
Abe. 

Willard Holmes, who in spite of his splendid 
strength had not the desert man’s powers of endur 
ance, clung grimly to one thought — the money must 
go to Eepublic. The steady rhythm of his horse*s 
feet seemed to beat out the word : “Barbara ! Bar 
bara ! Barbara !” 

The trying scene with Greenfield, the long hard! 
hours in the saddle, the excitement of the fight m 
the canyon, with his anxiety for his wounded com= 
panion left alone in the desert, were almost too muck 
Could he hold out ? Could he make it ? He mud 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


The engineer held his seat with the strength of 
desperation. He must! The money must go to Re- 
public that night — to Barbara ! Barbara ! Barbara ! 
The horse’s feet seemed to have beaten out the word 
for ages. For ages he had been riding — riding — 
riding towards some point out there ahead in the 
desert night. 

The engineer knew now what it was that called 
him back. 


CHAPTER XXXo 


MANANA! MANANA! TO-MORROW! TO-MORROW 

HE night when Abe Lee started on his ride 
from Republic to San Felipe passed quietly 
in the little desert town. Texas and Pat 
with a few faithful white men guarded the Worth 
property lest, in some way, the news that Worth 
would be unable to pay as his superintendent had 
promised should get out and precipitate a crisis. But 
the strikers continued to enjoy peacefully their holi- 
day, looking forward to the morrow when they would 
be enriched with nearly two months’ pay. When the 
morrow came the laborers, their dark faces beaming 
with childish happiness, gathered early in front of 
Jefferson Worth’s office. Texas and Pat, with the 
men of the office force who had been up all night, 
were sleeping, for another night of guard duty was 
before them. 

When it was ten o’clock and no one had arrived at 
the office, the crowd of laborers began to show signs 
of growing impatience. Then someone recalled see- 
ing Abe riding on the buckskin horse toward the 
south and suspicion grew. At last a few of the more 
intelligent went in a body to the bank. 

“We come to see you about money You sabe 
about money ?” 

“What money is that ?” asked the man behind the 
window shortly. 



418 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


*‘Our money for work on railroad. Senor Worth 
was to pay. El Superintendente say pay to-day sure. 
He no come. You sabe ?” 

“I sabe that Worth won’t pay.” 

“No?” 

“No. He has no money here.” 

The Mexicans exchanged glances. “No money? 
You are quite sure, Senor ?” 

“Sure.” 

“Gracias, Senor. Adios!” 

It was a dangerous crowd that filled the streets of 
Republic that afternoon and evening, and all through 
the night that followed the friends of Jefferson 
Worth expected every hour the fulfillment of the 
strikers’ threats. Soon after breakfast, which Pat 
and Tex shared with Barbara, the message came from 
Mr. Worth telling them that Abe was on his way 
home with the money. 

Again the men were told that they would receive 
their pay on the morrow, but this time the announce- 
ment was received with black scowls and muttered 
curses of disbelief. “They make us damn fools, one 
time. How we know this time not the same ?” asked 
one of the leaders, speaking for the crowd. “Mebbe, 
Senor Tex, you not know. Mebbe they fool you like 
us. We get money this day, we glad — go work. We 

no get money by this night- ” an expressive shrug 

of the shoulders finished the sentence. 

The attitude of the citizens of Republic was one 
of angry indifference. They were angry both with 
Jefferson Worth and the strikers because the trouble 
was unsettling and harmful to the best interests of all 

419 


THE WIHHIHG OF BAKBABA WOKTH 


the business in the town and to some degree turned 
the inflowing stream of settlers and investors towards 
other points of the new country. They were indiffer- 
ent because of that underlying conviction, brought 
about by mysteriously authoritative rumors and whis- 
pered statements from supposed inside sources, that 
the cause of the trouble was a fight between Jefferson 
Worth and the Company. Whether capitalists rise 
or capitalists fall is always a matter of indifference 
to all who are not themselves of the capitalist class 
For capital continues its mastery of them just the 
same. Ho one doubted that the railroad would be 
finished whether Jefferson Worth failed or not. 
Horace P. Blanton was not backward in expressing 
the popular feeling, and the popular feeling often 
expressed grows ever more popular. 

Toward the end of the afternoon Pablo, who had 
been mingling with his countrymen all day, came to 
“headquarters” to report. The strikers were plan 
ning to attack their employer’s property that night, 
Pablo was certain that the mob would go first to the 
power plant and the adjoining buildings. 

Ho help was to be had from the citizens and, save 
for the few white men in Mr. Worth’s employ whG 
had been made to understand the situation and the 
reason for the delay, Tex and Pat were alone. The;? 
knew that there was small chance of Abe’s arrival 
until well toward midnight. For a little they con 
sidered the situation. 

Then the old frontiersman spoke. “Hit stands to 
reason that Pablo here is right an’ that the stampede 
will head toward the works first, an’ they’ll all go 

420 


THE WINKING OF BAEBAEA WOETH 


together. They ain’t a-comin’ here ’til later, after 
they’ve made their biggest play. Now Pablo, you 
listen. Get two horses — sabe, two — one for Ynez 
and one for yourself, and have them with El Capitan 
for La Senorita ready by the back door. You watch. 
If Senor Lee comes, tell him quick to go to the power 
house. If the men come, take the women on the 
horses and get out of the way. You understand ?” 

“Si, Senor. I will care for La Senorita.” 

Texas Joe turned to Barbara. “I don’t reckon 
they’ll get here at all, for I bank on Pat an’ me fixin’ 
somethin’ to interest ’em until Abe gets here. But 
it’s best to be fixed for what you ain’t expectin’. 
You’ll be a heap better off with Pablo anywhere away 
from here if they should come this way.” 

When the night fell, Texas and Pat went to the 
scene of the expected trouble and Barbara was left 
with Pablo. The Mexican prepared the horses as 
Texas had instructed and then took up his position 
by the front gate, proud and happy that they had so 
honored him — that they had trusted him to guard his 
employer’s daughter. The darkness deepened, 
Watchful, alert — Pablo strove to see into the gloom 
and listened to catch the first sound of approaching 
friend or enemy. The white men should learn that 
he could protect La Senorita — La Senorita who, in 
Eubio City, had been to him an angel of mercy when 
he was lying injured — La Senorita, whom they all 
loved. 

Behind him the door of the house opened, letting 
out a flood of light; then closed. In the darkness a 
voice called softly : “Pablo, are you there ?” 


421 


THE WINNING OF BAKBAKA WOKTH 


“Si, Senorita. You want me ?” 

Barbara came quickly down the walk to his side. 
“It’s so lonely and still in the house, Pablo; may I 
stay out here a little with you ? We can both watch.” 

Surely La Senorita could stay. Why not ? Pablo 
was to protect her, not to keep her a prisoner. 

She laughed quietly. “I believe you would do 
anything for me, Pablo.” 

“I would protect La Senorita with my life,” he 
answered simply. 

“I believe you would, Pablo; and so would Tex 
and Pat and Abe. You are all so good to me and I — 
I feel so good for nothing — so useless.” 

In the darkness the musical voice of Pablo an* 
swered: “Our love for La Senorita is so great. It 
is like the desert in the gentle moonlight, so big and 
wide. It is like the soft night under the stars, so 
deep. Everybody so loves La Senorita, and anyone 
loved that way cannot be what you say — good for 
nothing. Sometime men love like the sun on the 
desert in day time — fierce and hot, and that is differ- 
ent; that makes sometimes trouble — sometime make 
men kill. It is not good, La Senorita, but it is so.” 

They heard a galloping horse coming nearer and 
nearer. Barbara touched her companion’s arm and 
Pablo laid a hand on his revolver. Was it Abe? 
Was it someone to say that the mob was coming ? 

The horse and rider passed and the sound of their 
going died away in the stillness of the night. 

“Pablo, what time will they go to the power 
house ?” 

“Any time now, Senorita.” 

422 


THE WINKING OF BARBARA WORTH 

Barbara spoke quickly — eagerly now. “Are there 
&ot a good many of your countrymen from Rubio 
City among them, Pablo ?” 

“Si, Senorita.” 

“And do they — do they remember me ?” 

“Surely no one who lived in Rubio City could 
forget La Senorita, who was so kind to the poor.” 

“Then, Pablo, I have a plan to help. I did not 
tell Texas and Pat, but Ynez is not in the house. I 
sent her away this evening to stay with a friend on 
the other side of town.” 

“Si, Senorita.” The soft voice was perplexed and 
troubled. 

“Pablo, I am going to the power house to help.” 

“No, no, Senorita; it cannot be.” 

“Yes, Pablo, I must.” 

“But, Senorita, that is not right.” 

“You w T ill go with me, Pablo — and no one.- will 
harm me.” 

“But if Senor Lee comes ?” 

“When he finds no one here he will understand and 
go to us.” 

“No, no, Senorita; you must not! The father — 
Senor Texas, and Pat — they will kill me. La 
Senorita does not want Pablo to be hurt.” 

“Why Pablo, no one can blame you, and don’t you 
see that I must do what I can ? Come ; we are losing 
time. We must not be too late. You get the horses.” 

She went quickly into the house and when she came 
out again the Mexican, still protesting, held the 
horses ready. 

At the power house Texas and Pat sat just inside 


423 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


the main entrance. In the big room beyond them the 
great dynamos that furnished electricity to all the 
towns for lights and supplied the ice plant, the shops 
and every enterprise needing it throughout the Basin 
with power, hummed and sang their monotonous song 
of industry. In front of the building a large arc 
light made the immediate vicinity as bright as day. 
On every side of all the buildings in the group where 
the little handful of white men stood guard, similar 
lights had been placed by Abe at the beginning of the 
trouble. 

“Howly Mither, wud ye look at that V 7 came from 
Pat as Barbara, followed by Pablo, rode into the 
circle of light. With an oath from Texas Joe the 
two men ran forward, and as they came up to the 
riders the Irishman cried: “Fwhat the hell are ye 
doin’ here? F what’s the matter? Did thim divils 
go to the house first, or are ye crazy ?” 

With a laugh Barbara dismounted and, telling 
Pablo to tie the horses to the hitch rack a short 
distance away, faced the astonished men. “There’s 
nothing wrong at the house, but 1 knew you must 
be lonesome here so I came to see you. You don’t 
seem a bit glad to see me !” 

“Mither av Gawd!” groaned the Irishman. 

Texas called to Pablo. “Bring those horses back 
here.” 

“Pablo,” called Barbara, “do as I told you.” 

The Mexican leading the horses moved on toward 
the hitching place. Texas scratched his head in a 
puzzled way, while Pat grinned. “Will ye roll that 
in yer cigarette an’ shmoke it, Uncle Tex ?” 


424 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“111 have to take a shot at that fool greaser for 
this,” returned Texas. 

“You’ll do no such thing,” declared the young 
woman. “You know he couldn’t help himself.” 

“Be the Powers, ut’s us that should know that 
same !” 

“But honey, you can’t stay here. There’s goin’ to 
be trouble — real trouble.” 

“I know it, Uncle Tex, that’s why I came to help.’ 55 

“To help !” The two men looked at her in amaze- 
ment. 

Before they could find words for a question Pablo 
came running back to them : “They’re coming, 
Senorita ! Senor Tex ! They’re coming !” 

He was right. Texas Joe caught Barbara by the 
arm and with the three men she ran into the build- 
ing just as the crowd of Mexican and Indian laborers 
reached the outer edge of the lighted space. 

While still in the shadow of the night the crowd 
halted and the watchers in the buildings could see 
them across the broad belt of light — a stirring, rest- 
less mass of men, shadowy and indistinct. Now and 
then a single figure in the white canvas jumper, 
trousers and wide sombrero of the Mexicans, or wear- 
ing the blue overalls and black shirt decorated with 
many brightly colored ribbons and the green, yellow 
or orange head cloth of the Indians, would detach 
itself from the main company and — coming nearer — - 
would stand out with sudden startling clearness, dis= 
appearing again as suddenly in the dark mass as it 
again moved farther away. 

Here and there in the confusion of dusky moving 


425 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


forms a face would appear as someone, looking up at 
the electric light caught its rajs full upon his swarthy 
features ; or the watchers would catch the gleam and 
hash from a weapon, a belt buckle or an ornament as 
the mob of men moved uneasily about. Still farther 
away the restless, stirring mass was dissolved in the 
darkness of the night. 

“They’re palaverin’ about the lights,” said Texas 
to his companions. “Can’t jest figure the deal under 
Abe’s illumination. They’re all plumb anxious, but 
they’s nobody wishful to make himself conspicuous.” 

“Oh, why doesn’t Abe come ; why doesn’t he 
come ?” exclaimed Barbara. 

“Av the saints will only kape thim cholos con- 
siderin’, the lad may git here yet.” 

Even as the Irishman spoke the crowd, seemingly 
agreeing upon a plan, moved forward slowly in a 
body. When they were well within the lighted space 
Texas drawled : “Right here’s where I feel moved to 
address the meetin’,” and throwing open the door he 
stepped out upon the platform, which was built to the 
height of a wagon-bed above the level of the ground 
with steps at each end. 

Standing thus in the bright light of the arc that 
sputtered over his head, he was seen instantly by 
every eye in the crowd. As if by command they 
halted, standing motionless, their dark faces turned 
toward the old plainsman. 

Texas spoke in their own tongue. “Good evening, 
men. Why do you come here at this time of the 
night ? What do you want ?” 

There was an angry shifting to and fro in ths 


426 


SOIE WIRRIRG 0 F BARBARA WORTH 


mrm of men, and a Mexican standing well to tip 
front answered: “What should we want, Senos 
{Texas, but our pay? We have worked four— -five— 
leven weeks without money. We must have monej 
lo buy food— ciothes—tobaeco,” 

“Bo not the commissaries in the camps supply yoi* 
with all that you need f Surely you can wait a few, 
hours longer. To-morrow you will be paid ever? 
cent” 

“Manana, manana ; always to-morrow I The super 
intendent promised other time— 1 ‘to-morrow/ ' The 
superintendent lied. Row we will not wait iqs. 
tomorrow >5? 

Cries of approval greeted the bold speech, 

“But we cannot pay you to-night. We have not 
the money here,” 

“That is too bad for Senor Worth, them If he 
sannot pay he should have told us so that we could 
work for the Company, The Company can pay !” 

“But Mr, Worth will pay to-morrow morning,” 

A chorus of angry, jeering yells greeted this re 
jpeated promise, with cries of “Pronto !”, “Esta dia V\ 
and “Ro manana!” — “Row!”, “To-day !” ? and “Rot 
to-morrow I” The movement toward the building 
began again. 

Instantly the arms of the man on the platform 
were extended and the mob saw in each hand the 
^amiliar Colt's forty-five of the old time West. 

The forward movement was checked. 

“Men!” cried Texas, in his deliberate way, “yoii 
ca nn ot come any nearer these buildings. There are 
Americans here— friends of Mr, Worth, who ar$ 


421 


THE WIHFTIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


ready to shoot when I give the word. I can kill 
twelve of you myself before you can get to this plat- 
form. Go away quietly and in the morning you will 
get your money. Come one step nearer this building 
and many of you will die.” 

The moment was intense. A shot, a yell, a sudden 
movement would have precipitated a tragedy. 

In the full glare of the light against the blackness 
of the night, the crowd of dusky-faced, picturesque 
laborers hesitated. Standing on the platform under 
the arc that sputtered and sizzled — his back to the 
building — the single figure of Texas Joe was ready 
with menacing weapons. Behind the brick walls the 
handful of armed white men were waiting — watch' 
ing. Miles away in the desert, Abe Lee was lying 
wounded and alone under the still stars, and some* 
where in the night Willard Holmes, desperately hold- 
ing his seat in the saddle, was forcing his already 
exhausted horse toward the end of his mission. 

As the muscles of a tiger work and twitch when 
the beast makes ready for its spring, a movement 
agitated the mob, and a low growling murmur came 
from the mass of men. Texas spoke sharply « 
“Ready, you fellows in there ! If they start let them 
have it.” 

The murmur swelled in volume into an angry, 
inarticulate roar. The movement increased. An 
instant more and it would launch the mob in a mad 
rush. 

Suddenly, as a beast checked in its spring, they 
were still and motionless. 


428 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


By the side of the old frontiersman on the platform* 
®mder the light stood Barbara. 

“Let me speak to them, T ex.” 

Without pausing for the astonished man to reply 
spoke to the mob in Spanish* her voice rising 
clearly and sweetly. 

“Do you know me, friends ?” 

From different points in the crowd came the 
-mswers. 

“Si, Senorits* ’ “It is the daughter of Senoi 
Worth.” “Among the poor in Rubio City La Senor 
t& was an angel of mercy.” 

“I remember many of you,” Barbara continued 
Over there I see Jose Gallegos* whose wife and baby 
'Were ill. How is the little family now, Jose ? Manuel 
Cortes* do you remember when you were hurt by a 
wicked horse and I would come to see the wife and 
children? And Pablo Sanchez, do you know how 
long you were without work until with father’s help 
I found a place for you? Francisco Gonzales, I 
helped you bury your mother and gave money to the 
priest that masses might be said for her soul. And 
you, Juan Arguello, and Francisco Montez — I re 
member you all, and I am glad to see yon. But I 
am sorry that you come to destroy my father’s build 
ings. Why do you wish to do that ?” 

The Mexicans whom she called by name stirred 
uneasily but did not answer. Those who had known 
Barbara in Rubio City were few among the whole 
number of laborers, and to these others she was only 
the daughter of the man who was robbing them of 
their pay. 


429 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


The one who had so far acted as spokesman an 
swered angrily. “Must we say again what we want ? 
If you are, as they say, an angel of mercy, give us 
our money and we will go away.” 

Cries of “Si, si!”, “Bueno!”, “Muy pronto!”, 
“El Dinero,” and “Give us our money !” arose on all 
sides. 

“You shall have your money to-morrow — every 
penny. Cannot you wait until to-morrow morning ?” 

The impatient cries were louder now. “La Senor- 
ita also say ‘manana.’ All the rich say all time to the 
poor ‘manana,’ and manana never come. Give us 
our money now.” The cries were increasing in voL 
ume as man after man joined in the chorus of threat- 
ening protest. 

White and trembling, Barbara realized that she 
could do nothing more. Texas said, in a low voice: 
“For God’s sake, honey; get inside before they break 
loose! Go now! NOW!” His voice rose into a 
sharp command, and his steady hands again brought 
the deadly revolvers into position. 

The young woman reluctantly drew a step bad 
ward in obedience, then suddenly, with wide eyes 
%taring over the crowd into the darkness beyond and 
extended hand pointing, she sprang forward to the 
very edge of the platform. 

“Texas ! Texas ! Look, he is coming ! Abe is 
here !” 

Overcome with emotion she swayed and would 
have fallen, but Texas caught and steadied her. 
Every man in the crowd turned quickly toward the 
rear. A horseman, shadowy and indistinct beyond 

430 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


the circle of light, was riding toward them. As the 
newcomer pushed his horse nearer and they saw that 
it was Willard Holmes, Barbara uttered a cry and 
turned away, but the quick eye of Texas Joe had seen 
that the engineer’s horse was staggering with ex- 
haustion and that the man could scarcely keep his 
seat in the saddle. 

“Wait, honey,” he said, delaying the young 
woman. “This may pan out yet.” 

Barbara paused but did not turn toward the ap- 
proaching engineer. Slowly Holmes forced his 
horse, reeking with sweat and dust, into the crowd 
that opened for him to pass and closed in behind 
him with excited exclamations as the men saw that 
the rider reeled in his saddle — his face haggard and 
drawn with pain and his useless left arm tied to his 
side. 

But Barbara still turned away her face. 

Coming so close that his leg almost touched the 
edge of the platform, the engineer — as though he 
saw no one but her — held out the black leather bill- 
hook. 

“Miss Worth ! Barbara !” 

With a cry she turned as the rider sank and would 
have fallen had not Texas, reaching out, lifted him 
bodily from the saddle to the platform where Holmes 
sank unconscious. 

Barbara, with wonder and horror in her face, stood 
as if turned to stone, while Pat and Pablo quickly 
carried the still form of the engineer into the build- 
ing. Unable to move, the girl followed them with 
her eyes until Texas, who had caught up the leather 


431 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


bill-book, exclaimed with an oath: “Look, it’s the 
money !” 

She looked at him as though she did not compre* 
hend and he held the bundle of bills toward her 
“It’s the money, the money ! You tell them !” 

Mechanically Barbara took the money and turned 
to the crowd that stood silently wondering what it all 
meant — waiting to learn whether the incident had 
anything to do with their pay. 

Under the powerful light she held up her two 
hands filled with bills. “Look!” she cried. “Look I 
Here is the money for your pay. My father sent it 
Now will you believe ?” 

Shouts and cheers of understanding burst from the 
crowd. 

“It is for you that it is here,” continued the young 
woman. “Will you go away now and come back in 
the morning — each man for what is his ?” 

“Si, si, Senorita ! Gracias, Senorita !” Laughing, 
talking and gesticulating the crowd dissolved and 
moved away. 

Before the dispersing laborers had passed beyond 
the circle of light Barbara was kneeling beside Wil 
lard Holmes. 

And when they would have taken the engineer tc 
the hotel Barbara said “No”; he must be taken tc 
her home. 

Texas had just finished dressing with rude surgery 
the wound in the engineer’s shoulder, and Barbara— 
standing by the bedside — was looking down into the 
still face when Holmes slowly came back to cun 
sciousness. His opening eyes looked up full into lb* 

432 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


brown eyes that regarded him so kindly. For a 
moment neither spoke, but a slow flush of color crept 
into the girl’s face. 

By some strange freak of his half awakened intel- 
lectual faculties, Holmes was living over again the 
incident of his meeting Barbara on the desert the 
morning after her first arrival in Kingston. “Is it 
really you, or is it some new trick of this confounded 
desert?” he muttered. “I never saw a mirage like 
this before. I don’t think the heat has affected my 
brain !” 

To Barbara the words had the effect of suddenly 
blotting out all that had come between them and of 
putting them both back again to the day when they 
had “started square.” So she answered as she had 
answered then: “I assure you that I am very sub- 
stantial” — and added softly, “and I am here to stay,. 

X)0.” 

“And you would never forgive one who was false 
to the work,” muttered the engineer, and with the 
w ords his mind caught at the suggestion of the power 
that had enabled him to keep his seat in the saddle 
through the seemingly endless hours of torture, and 
he remembered everything up to the moment when 
he had handed the money to Barbara. 

With an exclamation he tried to raise himself. 

“Don’t do that. You must lie still, Mr. Holmes,” 
said the young woman. 

Texas and Pat in an adjoining room heard and 
came quickly to Barbara’s side. 

“I must get up, men !” cried Holmes appealingly, 
making another effort to raise himself. “We must 


433 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


go for Abe Lee. He’s hurt — alone — out tbero in tbe 
desert. Why don’t you move? Miss Worth, 
please ” 

Texas Joe quietly forced him back on his pillow. 
“You’ve got to take it easy for a little while, Mr. 
Holmes. Get a grip on yourself and tell us plain 
what happened. We’ll move fast enough when we 
know which way to go.” 

When Holmes had told them briefly the story of 
the fight in Devil’s Canyon and how he had left Abe 
at Wolf Wells, Texas said: “Now Mr. Holmes, you 
just keep quiet right here. Barbara’ll take care of 
you and we’ll have Abe home before noon to-morrow. 
Also, we’ll arrange for a little seance with them 
greasers what put you and Abe in this fix.” 

An hour later a light spring wagon with four 
horses, accompanied by a party of five mounted men ; 
moved swiftly out of Republic toward the south. 


CHAPTER XXXI. 


BARBARA'S WAITIN' BREAKFAST FOR YOU 

LONE on the desert, Abe Lee waited through 
the long, long hours of the night for the 
morning and relief. 

At times the wounded surveyor sank into half 
unconsciousness when he would again be riding — 
riding — riding, toward San Eelipe that seemed 
almost so far away that he could never hope to reach 
the end of his journey. Again he would be at the 
hotel surrounded by a crowd of people, who stared 
at him curiously as the clerk explained that Jefferson 
Worth had never been there — that there was no 
money — no money — no money. At other times he 
would be fighting desperately with James Greenfield 
for the possession of a black leather bill-book secured 
with rubber bands, or — with the Company engineer 
— would face a crowd of Mexicans in Devil’s Canyon 
in such numbers that he could not count them, but 
could only fight, and fight, and fight. Often Bar- 
bara came to plead with him to save her from some 
terrible danger, and when he would struggle to go 
a great weight held him down and he could not — and 
the brown eyes looked at him full of pleading re- 
proach. Then he would curse and cry aloud as Wil- 
lard Holmes came to take her away and he would 
watch the two riding into the distance through the 
green fields and orchards of a beautiful land, in their 
happiness forgetting him alone in the desert. 



435 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


At other times, fully conscious, lie lay with aching 
body and that sharp pain in his leg, looking up at the 
stars, calculating the time and the distance Holmes 
had ridden since he left him — how long it would be 
until the engineer would reach Republic — wondering 
if Tex and Pat could hold the strikers or if already 
it was too late. 

Then again, when his mind would be losing its 
grip and slipping away into the land of half-drepms, 
the sounds made by some animal at the water hole 
or the fancied approach of the Mexicans would cause 
him to start into keen readiness, to listen and watch 
with straining sense and ready weapon. At last all 
knowledge of time left him. His exhausted nerves 
and muscles no longer responded to suggestions of 
danger, his brain refused to act. A soft, thick cloud 
of darkness that was not the darkness of the night 
settled down upon him, enveloped him, wrapped him 
as in a sable blanket of many folds — thicker and 
thicker, blacker and blacker. Feebly he struggled 
against it for a little, then with a sigh yielded and 
lay still. 

He did not see the stars pale and the thin streak 
of light above the eastern rim of the Basin widen into 
the morning. He did not see the hills, all rose and 
purple, develop magically against the sky. He did 
not see the sun burst into view from the world 
below the line of the dun plain and roll its flood of 
light over the wide desert. He knew nothing more 
until someone was forcing something between his lips 
and a grateful, stimulating warmth crept through, 
his veins. A familiar voice drawled: “He ain’t 
a-goin’ out this time, boys. Hit takes more than one 


43(1 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


greaser bullet and a little ride to San Felipe m 9 
back to send bis kind over the line.” 

And a rich Irish brogue responded: “Ut’s thim 
black hathen that’ll be goin’ over the line in a bunch 
av I can git widin rache av thim wid me two hands.” 

Abe opened his eyes with a smile. “Homin’ boys ! 
Did Holmes make it in time ?” 

An articulate yell of delight from Pat greeted 
his speech. The grizzled plainsman, with a smile of 
understanding, answered his question. 

“Sure he made it. Everything’s as peaceful as 
the parson’s blessin’ after his discourse on the eternal 
fires of torment. Barbara’s waitin’ breakfast foi 
you, son. Wake up, an’ come along.” 

The surveyor did not need to ask why Texas Joe 
had brought so large a party of mounted and armed 
friends. He gave Texas and his companions all the 
information he could that would help them in their 
search for the Mexicans. 

When they had made him as comfortable as possi- 
ble on a cot in the spring wagon, with Pat beside 
him and Pablo on the driver’s seat, the horsemen 
mounted and Texas riding alongside the wagor 
drawled : “There ain’t no tellin’ when we’ll get back 5 
Abe ; but I don’t reckon we’ll be long an’ there ain’t 
no use me tellin’ you to take things easy. So adios P 

“Adios,” came the answer, “and good luck !” 

Pablo spoke to his team and they moved ahead 
For a moment the horsemen watched, then Tex spokfc 

“All set, boys?” 

“All set,” came the answer. 

Wheeling about, the five men rode rapidly in tk* 
opposite direction towards Devil’s Canyon. 

437 


CHAPTER XXXII. 

BARBARA MINISTERS TO THE WOUNDED.- 

ILLARD HOLMES, after a few hours of 
refreshing sleep and a good breakfast pre* 
pared and served by his hostess with her own 
hands, announced himself as well as ever. 

“But you need some fixing just the same,” declared 
Barbara as the Indian woman entered the room 
carrying warm water, towels and bandages. While 
the young woman bent over the engineer and with 
firm, deft fingers removed the wrappings from his 
shoulder, carefully cleansed the wound and applied 
fresh dressing and clean bandages, he watched her 
face, so near his own, and wondered that he had 
ever thought her plain. Her skin, warmly browned 
by desert sun and air, was fresh and glowing 
with the abundance of the rich red life in her veins ; 
her brown hair, soft and wavy, tempted him to reach 
up his free hand and put back a rebellious lock. He 
moved slightly and the brown eyes, full of womanly 
pity, met his. 

“Does it hurt ?” 

He smiled and shook his head. “Hot at all. In 
fact I think I rather enjoy it.” 

Her cheeks turned a deeper red and he felt her 
fingers tremble as she went on with her task. 

“If you laugh at me I shall turn you over to 
Ynez,” she threatened, at which he promised sc 

438 


I 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


pitifully to be good that she smiled and he stirred 
again impatiently. 

“I am hurting you !” she cried. “Fm so sorry, but 
Fm almost through — There now.” She finished 
with a last touch and, straightening, put back herself 
that rebellious lock of hair. 

As she stood before him beautifully strong and 
pure and fresh and clean in mind and heart and 
body, her sweet personality, the spirit of her com- 
plete womanhood swept to him — appealing, calling, 
exhilarating, invigorating, strengthening, as he had 
often felt the early air of the sun-filled morning 
sweeping over mountain and mesa and desert plain. 

The man drew a long deep breath. 

“Tired?” she asked softly, looking down upon 
him with almost a mother’s look in her eyes. 

“Heavens, no!” he exclaimed, his voice ringing 
out strongly. “I feel as though I had been made 
over, le-created.” 

She laughed gladly. 

“Do you know,” he asked earnestly, “how wonder- 
ful you are?” 

“Nonsense!” she retorted. “You are growing 
delirious. You must be quiet. I’m going to leave 
you alone for a little while now and you must sleep.” 

She followed the Indian woman from the room and 
he heard her voice speaking in soft musical Spanish 
as they went. 

An hour later Barbara, moving quietly toward his 
room to see if he was asleep or wanted anything, 
found him fully dressed in a big easy chair in the 
living room. 


439 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“Oh!” she exclaimed, in joyful surprise. “What 
are you doing out here ? I thought I told you to 
sleep.” 

“Your orders were inconsistent,” he returned 
lazily. “You can’t cure a patient and still continue 
treating him as if he were an invalid. I don’t need 
sleep. I need — Bring your chair and sit over here 
and let me tell you what I need,” he finished. 

She did not answer, but going to his room returned 
with a pillow, which she arranged deftly behind his 
head; then, kneeling, adjusted the foot rest of the 
reclining chair. “There; isn’t that better?” 

“Bring your chair,” he insisted. 

Again she left the room, returning this time with 
a bit of old soft muslin. Drawing her easy chair to 
a position facing him she seated herself and began 
converting the material in her hands into bandages. 
“The men will be here with Abe any time now,” she 
explained. “I have everything ready except these.” 

For a little while he watched her in silence as she 
tore the white cloth into long strips and rolled them 
neatly. 

“Don’t you care to know what it is that I need ?” 
he asked at last. 

She bent her head over her work and answered 
softly: “Whenever you are ready to tell me.” 

“Before I can tell you I must know something.” 

Carefully she rolled another white strip, her eyes 
on her task. “What must you know ?” 

“That you have forgiven me.” 

The color rushed into her cheeks as she answered? 
“Don’t you know that?” 


440 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“But I must hear you say it so that we can start 
square again ; don’t you see ?” 

“I suppose that we will be always starting over 
again, won’t we?” Then as she saw his face she 
added quickly : “I mean — I — I was thinking of the 
Company — and — father’s work.” 

“But you forgive me this time ?” he insisted. 

“Yes ; I forgive you, and I am glad — so glad that 
I can.” 

“And we are square again ?” 

“Yes; we are square again — until next time.” 
She added the words sadly. 

“But there will be no next time.” 

She shook her head with a doubtful smile. “The 
Company will make a ‘next time.’ ” 

He laughed aloud with a sudden sense of freedom 
that was new to him. “But you do not know,” he 
said, “and I would not tell you until we were square 
again. I am not with the Company now.” 

She dropped her roll of bandages and looked at 
him. “Not with the Company? When did you 
resign ?” 

“I didn’t resign. They discharged me.” 

“Discharged you?” 

“Yes; disgraceful, isn’t it? I felt pretty bad at 
first; then I came to take it as a compliment; and 
now — now I am glad !” 

Then he told her why Greenfield had sent for him ; 
how he had met the Seer; and how he had advised 
Cartwright to supply the money her father needed. 

“And you — you did — that, knowing it would cost 
you your position ?” she exclaimed. “Oh, I am 


441 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


glad! That was fine; that was big — worthy your 
ancestors !” In her interest she was leaning towards 
him with flushed cheeks and bright eyes, and her 
voice was triumphant as if in some subtle way she 
was vindicated through his victory. The engineer 
felt her attitude and knew that she was right. It was 
her victory. 

“Barbara,” he said, holding out his hand; “Bar- 
bara, may I tell you now what it is that I need ?” 

Before she could answer they heard a team and 
wagon coming into the yard beside the house. Bar- 
bara sprang to her feet. “It is the men with Abe!” 
she exclaimed, and ran out of the room on to the 
porch. 

From where he lay in his chair, the engineer saw 
through the open door Pablo and Pat coming up the 
steps of the porch carrying the surveyor on the canvas 
cot, and Barbara with mute, frightened face watch- 
ing. The two men with their burden entered the 
room, followed by the young woman, and carefully 
lowered the cot to the floor. The long form of the 
surveyor lay motionless, his eyes closed. 

With a low cry Barbara threw herself on her 
knees beside the cot. With one arm across the still 
form of the only brother she knew, and the other 
pushing back the rough hair from his forehead, she 
bent over, looking appealingly into the thin rugged 
face — her own face alight with loving anxiety. 

“Abe ! Abe ! Abe !” she called softly ; then again : 
“Abe! See dear; it’s Barbara.” 

As if only that voice had power to call him back, 
the man’s eyes opened, a slow smile spread over his 


442 


THE WINDING OF BARBARA WORTH 


unshaven, dust-stained features, and his voice e^: 
pressed glad surprise, “Why, hello, Barbara !” 

Willard Holmes, who had half risen from his 
chair and was leaning forward watching them with 
burning interest, sank back with a groan and covered 
his face with his hands. But they did not see. 

Still kneeling Barbara took a glass from Ynez and 
turned again to the injured surveyor. “Here, Abe; 
drink this.” 

The Irishman lifted him in his huge arms and he 
obeyed. Then as he lay looking up into Barbara’s 
face, again that slow smile came and he said : “Well, 
little girl; Holmes made it, didn’t he? That buck- 
skin horse of Tex’s is all right, and Holmes — Holmes 
is a man ! He sure made good ! How is he ?” 

Holmes rose dizzily and came forward. “I’m all 
right, old man, and so will you be when Miss Worth 
has had a chance at you.” 

Quickly the surveyor glanced from the engineer’s 
face to that of the young woman, whose brown eyes 
still regarded him with loving solicitude. “I reckon 
you’re right,” he said slowly. 

Then Barbara directed them to carry him into the 
room she had prepared, while Willard Holmes re- 
turned to his chair to lie with closed eyes, suffering 
a deeper pain than the pain in his shoulder. 

When his wound had been dressed and he had 
eaten the tempting meal Barbara brought, Abe fell 
asleep. But the young woman would not leave him 
for long, so that Holmes saw very little of her all the 
rest of the day. Occasionally she would run into the 
room where the engineer lay to ask if he needed 


443 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


anything, but only for a moment. Sometimes, 
seeing him so still, she thought that he was asleep 
and withdrew softly without speaking ; but he always 
knew. 

The next morning Holmes was just established in 
the big reclining chair in the living room when a 
peremptory knock called Barbara to the front door* 
It was James Greenfield. 

The president of The King’s Basin Land and Irri- 
gation Company was greatly agitated and he scarcely 
noticed the young woman as he greeted the engineer 
with affectionate regard that was genuine ; explaining 
how he had returned to Kingston the night before 
and, learning of Holmes’s injury that morning, had 
hurried to him at once. “But I can’t understand,” 
he exclaimed half angrily, “how you ever came to be 
mixed up in this affair. When I missed you from 
the hotel I supposed of course that you had taken the 
train back to Kingston and came on expecting to find 
you there. What on earth possessed you to go off on 
this wild ride over the mountains with that man Lee ? 
You might have been killed, and I — I — ” He could 
not put into words the horrid thought that was in his 
mind — how, had the Mexican’s bullet gone true, he 
himself would have been responsible for the death 
of the man he loved as his own son. 

Holmes — understanding the man’s thpught — was 
touched by the capitalist’s unusual agitauon, and for 
the moment did not attempt to reply. Then with an 
attempt at lightness he said: “Oh, well; it’s all 
coming out right, Uncle Jim. Thanks to Miss 


444 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Worth’s care I am nearly well now. The wound 
really didn’t amount to much.” 

As he spoke he looked at Barbara, and the older 
man also turned quickly toward the young woman 
who, at the engineer’s words, was blushing rosy red. 

“Father and I owe Mr. Holmes a debt we can 
never pay,” she said quietly. Then, excusing herself 
on the plea that her other patient needed her, she left 
the room. 

When the two men had watched her go, Greenfield 
said gently: “This is a bad business, Willard; a 
damned bad business; I’ll admit that I was angry 
when you turned against us in that Cartwright deal, 
but confound it, boy! I admire you for it just the 
same. Your father would have done just as you did. 
It was that finer kind of honesty that made him a 
failure in the business where the rest of us made 
fortunes, but we all loved him for it, and your 
mother — ” he looked away through the window to- 
ward the distant mountains. “You understand, don’t 
you Willard, that I was forced to let you go when 
you turned the Company down ? My directors would 
never stand for anything else, you know. You don’t 
feel hard toward me, lad, because I had to let you 
out ?” 

“Certainly not, Uncle Jim. I was hurt just at 
first, but when I had taken time to think it over I 
did not blame you.” 

“You are sure, Willard?” 

“Sure, Uncle Jim.” 

The older man was studying the engineer’s fac® 


445 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


intently. “I don’t know what it is, Willard, but 
something has changed you since you came into this 
country. You know, my boy, that I have no one in 
the world but you. All that I have will be yours. 
I have dreamed and planned for you as for my own 
flesh and blood. I am telling you this now because 
I have felt that something was taking you away 
from me. Something that I cannot understand has 
come between us. I felt it the moment I met you in 
Kingston and it has been growing ever since. It 
was that that made me so angry over the Cartwright 
business. You know how I hate the West; you 
know what it cost me years ago. I feel now that in 
some way I am losing you too. What is it, Willard, 
that has come between us ? Let’s clean it up and get 
back in our relations to where we were before we 
left home.” 

As James Greenfield made his appeal the engi- 
neer’s eyes turned involuntarily toward the door 
through which Barbara had left the room. And 
when he did not answer immediately the older man 
was sure that he understood what it was that had 
come between himself and the son of the woman he 
loved, and why Holmes had used his influence in 
behalf of Jefferson Worth. 

“Is it that girl, Willard?” 

The younger man faced him squarely and his 
answer meant much more to the engineer himself 
than he could have explained to Greenfield. “Yes 
sir, it is this girl.” 

“You love her ?” 

“As my father must have loved my mother.” 

446 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


At the simple words Greenfield controlled himself, 
but his hatred for Jefferson Worth was very bitter 0 
That he should fail to win in the business warfare 
with the western man was nothing, but that Worth — 
through his daughter — should rob him of the son that 
was more than a son to him was more than he could 
bear. 

“But, my dear boy,” he said; “think what this 
means! Think of your family — of your father and 
mother — of your friends and your future back home* 
Who are these people? They are nobodies. This 
man Worth is an ignorant, illiterate, common boor 
with no breeding, no education — nothing but a cer- 
tain native cunning that has enabled him to make 
a little money. We have nothing in common with 
his class.” 

“Mr. Worth is an honest, honorable man who is 
doing a great work,” answered Holmes stoutly ; “and 
his daughter is — Uncle Jim, she is the most won- 
derful woman I ever knew !” 

As Willard Holmes spoke, Barbara, coming from 
the kitchen into the dining room, could not help 
hearing the words that came through the partly 
opened door of the living room where the men were 
talking. Involuntarily at the sound of the engineer’s 
voice the red blood crept into the young woman’s 
face and her eyes shone with pleasure. The next 
moment Greenfield’s voice held her motionless. 

“But don’t you know that she is not Worth’s 
daughter ?” 

“Not his daughter?” exclaimed Holmes. 

“No, not his daughter. She is a nameless waif 

447 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


whom he picked up and adopted. Ho one knows* 
her parentage — not even her name. She may even 
have Mexican or Indian blood in her veins for all 
that anyone knows.” 

It was not strange that Willard Holmes had never 
heard the story of how Barbara was found in the 
desert. In the new country, where most of the engi- 
neer’s life in the West had been spent, comparatively 
few beyond Worth’s most intimate associates knew 
that she was the banker’s daughter only by adoption. 
Greenfield, who had learned the story while inquiring 
for business reasons into the history of his com- 
petitor, told the young man briefly of the finding of 
the unknown child. 

“Don’t you see, my boy,” finished the financier, 
“how impossible it is that you should give your name 
— one of the oldest and best in the history of the 
country — to a nameless woman of unknown breed- 
ing, whose connection with this man Worth even is 
merely accidental? It would ruin you, Willard. 
Think of your friends back home ! How would they 
receive her? Think of me — of my plans for you! 
I — I should feel that I had been false to your mother, 
Willard, who gave you to me on her death-bed, if I 
permitted such a thing as this. It’s — it’s mon- 
strous !” 

Slowly the engineer raised his head and with a 
smile on his white face that hurt the older man, he 
said : “I can at least relieve your mind on that score, 
Uncle Jim. You need not fear that I will marry 
Miss Worth.” 

At his words from beyond that partly closed door, 
448 


THE WIUHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


Barbara made her way blindly to her own room and, 
throwing herself face downward on her couch, strove 
with clenched hands and throbbing veins to keep her 
self control. She must not — she must not let them 
know, she whispered to herself — moaning in pain. 
She must go to them again in a moment — and they 
must not know. 

While the woman whom Willard Holmes loved 
fought for strength to hide her pain, James Green- 
field, in the other room, was leaning eagerly toward 
the engineer. “She has refused you ?" 

“I haye not asked her. But don't misunderstand 
me. What you have told me — what my friends at 
home might think or do — could make no difference. 
Barbara Worth is worthy any man's love; and I 
love her and would make her my wife. I would 
give up even you for her, Uncle Jim. It's not that. 
It's because I know that she loves someone else too 
well to listen to me." 


44© 


CHAPTER XXXIII. 


WILLARD HOLMES RECEIVES HIS ANSWER. 

HEX Barbara returned to the living room 
with some trivial excuse to explain her 
rather long absence, she found Holmes de- 
termined to go with Mr. Greenfield to his rooms in 
the hotel in Kingston. 

When she protested he answered: “Really, Miss 
Worth, my shoulder troubles me so little that I am 
ashamed to offer myself as an invalid ; and now that 
Uncle Jim is with me I haven’t the shadow of an 
excuse for burdening you any longer.” 

“I am sorry if I have made you feel that you were 
a burden,” she returned with a brave smile. 

He answered warmly : “You know I did not mean 
to imply that. I shall never forget your kindness — 
never.” 

Greenfield too expressed his appreciation of her 
kindness but she answered the engineer as if she had ' 
not heard the older man. “And I can never thank 
you for what you have done for us.” 

As they stood on the porch while Greenfield went 
on ahead to the buggy, Holmes held out his hand. 
“And we are square again ?” 

“Yes, we are square.” 

“Then adios, Senorita.” 

“Adios, amigo.” 



450 


THE 'WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


Bravely she stood watching until the carriage dis- 
appeared down the street. Then she went slowly 
into the house to Abe’s room. 

The surveyor lay propped up in bed with pillows, 
looking quite cheerful. “Well, sister,” was his 
greeting; “you have lost one patient and you are 
going to lose the other one before long. I feel like 
a new man already.” 

For a little she made no answer and, as she stood 
before him silent, those eyes that were trained to let 
nothing escape their notice studied her face and 
noted her hands clasped in nervous pain. “Why, 
Barbara ! What is it, sister ? What has gone 
wrong ?” 

At his words the brown eyes filled. 

“Barbara !” 

She dropped into the chair by the bedside and,, 
throwing herself toward him, buried her face in her 
arms in the pillow by his side, her form shaking 
with sobs. 

The surveyor’s face was white now under its 
bronze — white and set. Lightly he placed his hand 
upon the soft brown hair so near his shoulder and his 
eyes seemed now to be looking far away. When her 
grief had spent itself a little he said quietly : “Don’t 
you think, sister, that you had better tell me about 
this ?” 

When she did not answer he said again gently; 
“Do you care for him so much, Barbara?” 

The brown head nodded her confession and for a 
moment the man closed his eyes and turned away hie. 
face. Then : “Won’t you let me help you ?” 


451 


THE WINNING OF .BARBARA WORTH 


Slowly, with many pauses, she told him what she 
had overheard. When sho had finished Abe said 
simply: “But he has not told you of his love, Bar- 
bara. Perhaps you are mistaken.” 

“No, Abe; Pm not mistaken. He has not told 
me — not in words, but I know ; I know !” 

“Then,” said the surveyor, “he will tell you. 
Listen, Barbara. The man who went through those 
Mexicans in Devil’s Canyon with me is not the kind 
of a man who gives up the woman he loves for what 
others think. Wait a little, dear, and you will see 
that I am right. You have been too quick. Be 
patient a little and you shall see.” 

“But Abe, Mr. Greenfield is right. I am a name- 
less nobody; and he — he is — ” 

“He is a man and you are a woman, and this is 
La Palma de la Mano de Dios where nothing else 
matters,” said Abe Lee almost sternly. 

A few minutes later, when Barbara was gone, the 
surveyor slipped lower on the pillows and wearily 
turned his face to the wall. Several times that day 
Barbara looked in on him and at last, when he had 
not moved for so long, called him softly. He an- 
swered with a smile, but when she had arranged his 
pillows for him he closed his eyes again with a word 
of thanks. 

Jefferson Worth arrived that evening and with him 
came the Seer, who had joined him in the city by the 
sea. But Barbara’s joy at their coming was over- 
shadowed by her anxiety for Abe, who seemed to have 
fallen into a half-unconscious condition that was 
alarming. When they entered his room the surveyor,, 

452 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


who still lay with his face to the wall, did not 
look up. 

“Daddy is here, Abe,” said Barbara ; “Daddy and 
the Seer.” 

Slowly the man turned toward them and held out 
his hand with a word of greeting for each. “Fm 
mighty glad you have come,” he added; “Barbara 
has had rather more than her hands full.” 

But the old engineer noticed that he did not look 
at Barbara as he spoke. 

While the three were at supper Barbara told the 
men the whole story, and when they had finished the 
meal the Seer said: “Now Jeff, I know you have 
important business needing your immediate attention 
and our girl here must have a good night’s rest — she 
has been through enough to kill an average woman. 
I’m going to take care of Abe to-night myself.” 

When his old chief was alone with the surveyor he 
drew a chair to the bedside and sat for some time 
looking at the man on the bed. Then he said: “I 
think, son, that you and I had better get to the bottom 
of this. First, I’ll have a look at that leg.” 

When the examination was over the big man eyed 
the surveyor. “Humph! This is not a scratch be- 
side what that greaser did to you with his knife in 
Arizona. You didn’t even stop work for that. Your 
ride to San Felipe and back ordinarily would call for 
about twelve hours sleep and that’s all. Come, lad, 
what’s the matter ? Out with it.” 

Abe smiled. “I’m down and out, I reckon.” 

“Down and out, hell!” returned the big man. 
“That won’t do, Abe. You forget that you are talk- 


453 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


ing to me.” Then he leaned forward and spoke in a 
low tone. “I know what it is, my boy. It’s Bar* 
bara.” By the pain in the surveyor’s eyes the Seer 
knew that he was right. 

Then the Seer in his own way did for Abe what 
Abe had done for Barbara. 

When the young woman brought in his breakfast 
the next morning Abe greeted her with his old 
cheery “Hello!”, and declared facetiously that the 
Seer had talked him into a sleep from which he had 
awakened as hungry as a bear and ready to go to 
work. 

Two days later Texas Joe, who had ridden in from 
somewhere late the night before, came to report. 

“We were beginning to think that you were not 
coming back at all, Uncle Tex,” said Barbara, who 
with the others was curious to hear of the old-timer’s 
adventure. 

“I ’lowed once mebbe I wouldn’t come back no 
more neither,” he drawled. “You see, Mr. Worth, 
after we-all got Abe at Wolf Wells I figured that — 
bein’ so far on the way — I might as well go on over 
to Felipe an’ get that ol’ buckskin hawss o’ mine 
what Abe had left.” He paused, and, turning his 
head to one side, looked meditatively down at the 
spur on his high-heeled boot. “That there buckskin 
is sure some hawss, Barbara; he sure is.” 

“Did you get him ?” asked Barbara. 

Texas looked up, mildly surprised. “Sure we got 
him. That’s what I’m a-tellin’ you.” 

Then he laughed softly as though mildly amused 
at some incident suddenly remembered. “Abe, ^011 

454 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


know that greaser that tumbled into the Dry River 
Spillway when we-all was puttin’ in Number Five 
Gate ?” 

“Yes.” 

“I ’lowed you’d know him. I heard somethin’ 
funny about him when I was in San Felipe after 
that buckskin.” 

“What was it, Texas ?” 

“He’s daid.” 

The recovery of the two wounded men was rapid. 
For a while Holmes came over from Kingston every 
day to see Lee, and the two, with the Seer and Bar- 
bara, spent many delightful hours on the big front 
porch. 

Jefferson Worth’s enterprises pushed steadily to- 
ward completion. The power plant in Barba was 
finished and The King’s Basin Central had stretched 
its steel length from the junction at Republic to 
within three miles of the terminal. 

When Abe was able to go back to his work, Holmes 
did not go so often to the Worth home; but the pres- 
ence of the Seer still enabled him to excuse to him- 
self his quite frequent visits. But while the young 
engineer continually sought the Seer, not only be- 
cause of their growing friendship but because he was 
always sure of meeting Barbara, he avoided seeing 
the girl alone for he felt that he could not trust 
himself ; and the young woman, feeling his attitude 
toward her, was convinced against her will and Abe’s 
protest that the man who loved her guarded himself 
against her for the reasons that she had overheard 
Greenfield urge upon him. 


455 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


Then Holmes received a letter from the South- 
western and Continental Railroad Company offering 
him a position that would place him at the head of 
the engineering department of the district that in- 
cluded The King’s Basin. The letter stated that the 
position was tendered on recommendation of Jeffer- 
son Worth and, in view of the fact that the flood 
season was at hand and that conditions seriously 
threatening to the Company’s property might be 
expected at any hour, urged him to accept by wire 
and take charge immediately. 

With the letter in his hand a sudden desire to go 
with it to Barbara mastered him. He knew that the 
Seer had planned to go that morning with Abe Lee 
to Barba and that the young woman was alone. 

An hour later he dismounted in front of the Worth 
home. Barbara herself met him at the door. “The 
Seer is not at home to-day,” she said, as they en- 
tered the living room. “I thought you knew.” 

“I did not come to see the Seer to-day. I came 
to see you,” he answered bluntly. 

“To see me ?” 

“Yes; to ask you how I shall answer this.” He 
handed her the letter. 

She read it slowly, gaining time for self-controL 
“But I do not understand why you should come to 
me.” 

He studied her face a moment before he answered. 
How could he explain to her the impulse that had 
prompted him, as every man is prompted to take the 
big things of his life to the one woman who — if she 
be really the one woman for him — is more than all ? 


456 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


“I thought — I hoped that you would be interested,” 
he said. 

“And I am !” she cried eagerly, feeling that which 
he could not put into words. “Of course I’m inter- 
ested. I was only surprised that you should hesitate 
a moment to accept. Don’t you want to continue 
your work ? Don’t you want to stay with us ?” She 
added the last words wistfully and the heart of the 
man longed to tell her that which she longed to hear. 

“Yes,” he said slowly, “I want to stay, but I — I 
am afraid.” The words slipped out unbidden. 

Barbara interpreted his answer in the light of his 
conversation with Greenfield, which she had over- 
heard, and her woman’s pride was aroused. He 
should be made to understand that he was in no 
danger from her. Her next words were a challenge. 
“Afraid of what ?” 

“Afraid of you,” he burst forth savagely. “Afraid 
of myself. Because I love you. From the first day 
when you showed me the desert you have been so 
closely associated in my mind with this work that I 
cannot think of it without thinking of you. Every- 
thing I have done I have felt was done for you. I 
would have given it all up a hundred times but my 
thoughts of you would not let me. When I have been 
untrue to the work I have felt that I have been 
untrue to you. If I have accomplished any good here 
it has been through you. Everywhere I have gone in 
this country you have seemed to me to be there. 
Everything I see speaks to me of you. The desert — 
the mountains — the farms and homes and towns; it 
is all you — and you — and you. I did not realize it 

457 


THE WIKNIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


at first, but I felt it, and then as I came to love my 
work I came to love you. I did not intend to tell 
you this. I hate myself for telling you — but I love 
you. I love you! Do you understand now why I 
came to you with this letter? Do you understand 
why I am afraid to stay ?” 

At the man’s passionate outburst that came as if 
dragged from him against his will, Barbara shrank 
back as if he threatened her. He had not asked if 
she loved him; he had only spoken brutally— sav- 
agely, of his passion for her. She repeated insist- 
ently, blindly, to herself : “He must not know ! He 
must not know !” 

The man spoke again. “Forgive me, Miss 
Worth; I did not mean to let go of myself. I know 
how you love this work — how hard you have tried to 
hold me true to it. I could not bear that you should 
think of me as leaving it without reason. But you 
see — you see how impossible it is now for me to stay.” 

As he spoke, a running horse stopped suddenly in 
front of the house and through the open door they 
saw Pablo leap from the saddle and run swiftly up 
the walk toward the house. 

“Senorita !” the Mexican cried, as Barbara sprang 
towards him; “the river! the river! It has come. 
The Company works — it is all gone! Senor Worth 
send me quick to tell Senor Holmes. I go to Kings- 
ton ; he not there. They say he ride this way. I 
come to you, Senorita; I think maybe you know 
where I find him.” He turned to the engineer. 
“Senor Holmes, the river has come again into La 
Palma de la Mano de Dios like the Indians say it 


458 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA W 7 ORTH 


was long time ago. Senor Worth say you come please 
pronto !” 

Barbara wheeled on the engineer with flushed 
cheeks and blazing eyes. 

“This is your answer !” she cried. “Not for me; 
not for yourself ; but for the work — your work — our 
work !” 

For an instant he looked into her eyes, then turned 
and ran towards his horse with Pablo at his heels. 

Barbara saw them spring into their saddles and 
disappear in a cloud of dust, and the engineer, as he 
rode, remembered what Abe Lee had once told him of 
Pablo’s saying : “In the Company there is nc 
Senorita!” 


CHAPTER XXXIV. 

BATTLING WITH THE RIVER, 

OME day, perhaps, the history of that Rivei 
war will be written. It can only be sug- 
gested in my story. 

It was a war of terrific forces waged for a great 
cause by men as brave as any who ever fought with 
weapons that kill. 

The attacking force was the Rio Colorado that 
with power immeasurable had, through the ages past, 
carved mile-deep canyons on its course and with its 
mountains of silt had built the great delta dam across 
the ancient gulf, thus turning back the waters of the 
sea that sun and wind might lay bare the floor of 
the Basin and work the desolation of the desert. 

Using the Seer’s open hand for his map of La 
Palma de la Mano de Dios, Jose, the Indian, had 
traced the course of the river along the base of the 
fingers flowing toward the gulf which lies between 
the edge of the palm and the thumb — this same inner 
edge of the hand representing roughly the high 
ground that shuts out the waters of the sea. The 
thousands of acres of The King’s Basin lands lie 
from sea level to nearly three hundred feet below. 
The river at the point where the intake for the system 
of canals was located is, of course, higher than sea 
level, for the waters that pass the intake flow on 
southward to the gulf. 

4m 



THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


It was the river flowing thus on higher ground that 
made irrigation and reclamation of the desert pos- 
sible. It was this also that made possible the dis- 
aster that was now upon the hardy pioneers, who 
had staked everything in their effort to realize the 
vast potential wealth of the ancient sea-bed. The 
grade from the river at the intake to the lowest point 
in the bottom of the Basin is much steeper than the 
established fall of the river from the intake to the 
gulf. The water in the canals on this steeper grade 
was controlled by headings, spillways, gates and 
drops, while the structure at the intake, with gates 
to regulate the flow into the main canal, prevented the 
river from leaving its old channel altogether, pouring 
its entire volume into the Basin and in time con- 
certing it again into an inland sea. 

The dangerously cheap and inadequate character 
of the vital parts, built by the Company upon the 
usual promoter’s estimates, had led Abe Lee to pro- 
test against the risk forced upon the settlers and had 
finally caused him to resign. Later, as the Company 
system of canals was extended and more and more 
water was needed to supply the rapidly increasing 
acreage of cultivated lands, Willard Holmes came 
to appreciate the desert-bred surveyor’s view of the 
danger and insistently urged his employers to supply 
him with funds to replace the temporary wooden 
structures with safe and lasting works of concrete 
and steel. 

But the hunger of Capital for profits forbade. 
Some day the work would be done, the directors 
promised. In the meantime, without increasing the 

461 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


original investment by so much a3 a dollar but with 
the revenues derived from the sale of water rights, 
they were extending the system to supply the ever 
increasing fields of the settlers, thus shrewdly forcing 
the people, who were ignorant of the terrible risk 
they were carrying, to supply the funds to build the 
canals and ditches that belonged to the Company; 
while for the water carried to the ranches the farm- 
ers continued to pay the Company large rentals. The 
original investment of the Company was very small 
compared with the thousands invested by the pioneers 
who had been induced to settle in the new country. 
And yet from every dollar of the wealth taken from 
the land the Company would receive a share. 

But the Rio Colorado gave no heed to the decree 
of the Hew York financiers. The forces that had 
made La Palma de la Mano de Dios are not ruled 
by Wall street. 

Willard Holmes, who had come to understand that 
his work was not alone to safeguard the property of 
his employers but to protect the interests of the pio- 
neers as well, had been discharged because he would 
not deliver the people wholly into the hands of the 
Company. A new engineer out of the East, as 
faithful to the interests of Capital as he was unfa- 
miliar with conditions in the new country, was placed 
in charge. 

It was as if the river, in the absence of the man 
whose constant readiness had held it in check, saw its 
opportunity. Swiftly it mustered its forces from 
mountain and plain. Hundreds of miles away it 
gathered its strength and hurried to the assault. The 


462 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


sources of information established by Holmes on the 
tributaries and headwaters wired their reports: a 
foot rise on the Gila; three feet coming down the 
Little Colorado; two feet rise in the Salt; five feet 
on the Grand. The Hew York office-engineer 
received the messages with mild interest. The daily 
reports from the weather bureau covering the coun- 
tries drained by the Rio Colorado lay on his desk 
unnoticed. 

Mr. Burk warned him, but the thoughtful Man- 
ager of the Company was not an engineer. Willard 
Holmes tried to help him, but Holmes had been dis- 
charged by the Company and the words of discharged 
men have little weight with those who succeed to their 
positions. 

The daily reports from the gauge at Rubio City 
showed an increase in the river’s volume of twenty 
thousand second feet; then thirty thousand more; 
and on top of that came another twenty thousand. 
The assistants of the new chief engineer tried to tell 
him what it meant, but the assistants were subordi- 
nates and friends of Willard Holmes. The man from 
Hew York, who was privileged to write several letters 
after his name, was supposed to know his business. 

Then the assembled forces of the river reached the 
intake, and the trembling wooden structures that 
stood between the pioneers and ruin, besieged by the 
rising flood, battered by the swirling currents, bom- 
barded by drift, gave way under the strain and the 
charging waters plunged through the breach. 

Too late the Company’s forces were rushed to the 
scene. Before their very eyes the roaring waters, as 


463 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


if mad with destructive power, wrenched and tore 
at the Company’s property, twisting, ripping, smash- 
ing, until not a trestle, plank or stick was left in place 
and the terrific current, rushing with ever increasing 
volume and power through the opening, plowed into 
the soft, alluvial soil of the embankment, undermin- 
ing and carrying it away until nearly the entire river 
was admitted. 

As quickly as men and material could be assem- 
bled, the Company’s chief engineer began the battle 
to regain control of the mighty stream. The warfare 
thus begun meant life or death to the greatest recla- 
mation project in the world. 

Millions already invested by the settlers in farms 
and towns and homes and business enterprises were 
at stake. Many more millions that were yet to be 
realized from the reclaimed lands depended upon the 
issue of the fight. 

Against the efforts of the engineers and the army 
of laborers the river massed from its tributaries in 
the regions of heavy rains and melting snows the 
greatest strength it had assembled in many years. 

Five times, with piling and trestles and jetties and 
embankments, the men who defended The King’s 
Basin were in sight of victory. Five times the river 
summoned fresh strength — twisted out the piling, 
wrecked the trestles, undermined the jetties and 
embankments and swept the nearly completed struc- 
tures, smashing, grinding, crashing, away — a twisted, 
tangled ruin. 

While the engineers and men of the Company were 
waging this war with the river, the situation of the 

464 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


pioneers in the Basin grew daily more perilous. 
Without a well-defined channel large enough to carry 
the incoming stream, the flood spread over a wide 
territory in the southern and western portions of the 
Basin, filling first the old channels and washes left 
by the waters ages ago, forming next in the areas of 
nearly level or slightly depressed sections shallow 
pools, lakes and seas, out of which the higher ground 
and hummocks rose like new-born islands, growing 
smaller and smaller as the rising tide submerged more 
and more of their sandy bases. Meanwhile the whole 
flood, eddying slowly with winding sluggish currents 
in the shallow places, moving more swiftly in the 
deeper washes and channels, swept always onward 
toward the north where, miles away, lay the deepest 
bottom of the great Basin. 

Many of the settlers in the flooded districts were 
forced to abandon farms they had won with courage 
and toil, for the sweeping waters covered alike fields 
of alfalfa and grain and barren desert waste. The 
towns of Frontera and Kingston were protected from 
the inundation by earthen levees, in the building of 
which men and women toiled in desperate haste, and 
night and day these embankments were patrolled by 
watchful guards, who frequently summoned the 
weary, besieged citizens from their rest to protect or 
strengthen some threatened point in their fortifica- 
tions. 

The eastern side of the Basin being higher ground, 
the settlers in the South Central District and east of 
Republic, with the two towns built by Jefferson 
Worth, were in no immediate danger, but the old Dry 


465 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


River channel became a roaring torrent, bank-full ; 
and it was only a question of time, if the river were 
not controlled, when every foot of the new country 
with its wealth of improvements and its vast possi- 
bilities would be buried deep beneath the surface of 
an inland sea. 

The situation was appalling. The remarkable 
development of the new country, the marvelous rich- 
ness of the reclaimed lands, with the immense possi- 
bilities of the reclamation work as demonstrated by 
The King’s Basin project had attracted the attention 
of the nation. The pioneers in Barbara’s Desert 
were, in fact, leaders in a far greater work that would 
add immeasurably to the nation’s life — that would, 
indeed, be world-wide in its influence. Because of 
this the attention of the nation was fixed with 
peculiar interest upon the disaster that had fallen 
upon The King’s Basin. Throughout the land civil 
engineers watched intently the efforts of the Com- 
pany men to regain control of the river and to force 
it back into its old channel. Many declared that, 
because of the alluvial character of the soil, the 
absence of anything like a rock floor to build upon 
and the great volume and terrific velocity of the cur- 
rent, the feat was an engineering impossibility. In 
the eyes of the engineering world The King’s Basin 
project was doomed. The settlers were advised to 
abandon the work they had accomplished and to move 
out. But those strong ones who had forced the desert 
to yield its wealth to their hands did not move. Those 
whose farms were in the flooded district were forced 
to go. There was the inevitable sifting of the timid- 

466 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


hearted and the weak, but the great majority stood 
fast. 

Jefferson Worth, in the face of almost certain ruin, 
went steadily on with his work on the railroad and 
continued pushing his other enterprises toward com- 
pletion — making improvements, erecting new build- 
ings, planning further investments and developments 
with a confidence and conviction that was startling. 
Not once throughout that trying period was he heard 
to express the slightest doubt as to the ultimate 
triumph of the settlers. His business friends and 
associates outside urged him to stop — to wait at least 
until the issue was certain. He answered calmly 
that the issue was already certain and went on with 
his work. 

His confidence and courage were the inspiration 
that fired the hearts of that threatened people. Had 
he given ground, had he weakened and drawn back 
it would have started a panic that nothing could 
have checked and that would have resulted inevitably 
in the abandonment of the cause forever. The King’s 
Basin lands with the wealth of effort that had already 
been expended would have been given over to the 
river, lost irretrievably to the race. 

Hundreds went to him when they felt their cour- 
age failing and their spirits weakening under the 
strain. And always they returned to their farms, or 
to their business with renewed strength to go on. 
As one, who passed through that ordeal, long after- 
wards expressed it: “In those times we all just lived 
on his nerve.” 

Through all the Company’s war with the river and 

467 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


its repeated defeats Willard Holmes was forced to 
stand a mere observer, an idle looker-on. Foreseeing 
the catastrophe that was now upon them, he had 
prepared himself by careful study of every factor in 
the problem and by thorough knowledge of the situa- 
tion to meet the crisis when it came. With every 
means at his command he had planned and worked 
that he might be ready and so far as possible 
equipped for the struggle and now, when war was 
declared and the battle being waged, he could only 
watch the ruin of the work he loved while a stranger, 
who ignored his preparatory efforts, took the place 
that should have been his. 

But the great man of the S. & C., with whom the 
engineer had many a counsel in those days, warned 
him always to be ready for the time when — as the 
western man put it — “The Company should throw up 
its hands.” 

The waters moving northward reached the lowest 
point in the Basin and there formed an inland sea 
that, without an outlet and receiving the full volume 
of the river, grew ever larger and larger. Flowing 
towards the sea the flood developed swift currents in 
the depressions and washes that led in the general 
direction of its course, seeking thus to make for itself 
a well-defined channel. The largest of these ancient 
washes, scarcely noticeable in the desert, led from the 
south to Kingston, passing through the edge of the 
town, curved slightly to the west and extended on 
northward, becoming deeper and more clearly defined 
with higher ground on either side as it neared the 
lowest point of the Basin. The general lay of the 

468 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


land drew the flood toward this channel and deveh 
oped a current that moved with increasing velocity 
as the waters, nearing the sea, were concentrated 
more and more by the greater depth of the old chan- 
nel and the steeper grade of the land on both sides. 

Then a new and alarming phase of the river’s 
destructive work developed and everyone saw that the 
war at the intake must be forced to a speedy finish 
or the cause would be lost. The immense volume of 
water, flowing with increased strength and velocity 
as it defined for itself a more distinct channel down 
the steeper grade of the Basin, began cutting in the 
soft soil a vertical fall that from the foot of the grade 
moved swiftly up-stream; a mighty cataract from 
fifty to sixty feet in height and a full quarter of a 
mile wide, moving at the rate of from one to three 
miles a day and leaving as it went a great gorge 
through which a new-made river flowed quietly to a 
new-born and ever-growing sea. The roar of the 
plunging waters, the crashing and booming of the 
falling masses of earth that were undermined by the 
roaring torrent were heard miles away. Acres upon 
acres of the soft fertile land fell, melted and were 
swept away down the gorge as banks of snow fall and 
melt in the spring freshets. Day and night, night 
and day, the immeasurable power of the canyon- 
cutting river drove the cataract southward toward 
the break at the intake through which, by this time, 
the entire Colorado at its highest flood stage was 
turned. 

The imminent danger that threatened the Basin 
was not the danger from the ever-rising sea. Long 


469 


THE WIHHIKG OF BARBARA WORTH 


before the waters could fill the old sea-bed, that 
mighty cataract, moving ever upstream, would pass 
the intake; and with the floor of the river lowered 
thus some fifty feet it would be impossible to take 
the water out for irrigation. The lands reclaimed by 
the pioneers would go back te desert years before they 
would be buried once more under the surface of 
the sea. 

The complete destruction of all that the settlers 
had gained and the utter desolation of the land was 
now a question of weeks. 

The Company town of Kingston was directly in 
the path of that moving Hiagara. While the Com- 
pany’s men were making a last desperate effort to 
close the break, the great falls were eating their way 
nearer and nearer the little city. When the roar of 
the water and the crashing and booming of the falling 
banks could be heard on the streets and in the offices 
of the Company, the people left their homes, their 
stores and their shops; the town realizing that no 
human power now could avert the disaster. 

Heroic efforts were made to direct the course of 
the new river away from the little city, but the waters 
with savage, resistless power chose their own way. 
The pioneers, who built the first town in the heart 
of The King’s Basin Desert, saw that mighty, thun- 
dering cataract move upon the work of their hands 
and felt the earth trembling under their feet as they 
watched homes, business blocks, the hotel, the opera 
house, the bank and finally the Company building 
undermined and tumbled, crashing into the deep 
canyon. 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


In a few short hours it was over. The falls moved 
on and where Kingston had once stood was that great 
gorge, with a few scattered houses only remaining on 
each side. 

That same day the last attempt of the Company 
men to close the break failed. 

With every hour the awful ruin drew nearer the 
point which, if reached, would place The King’s 
Basin forever beyond the reclaiming power of men 
Frantic appeals for help were made to the govern 
ment, but before the ponderous machinery of state, 
with its intricate and complicated wheels within 
wheels, could unwind a sufficient quantity of red tape 
the work of the pioneer citizens would be past saving. 

It was at this time that a telegram from Jefferson 
Worth to the great man of the Southwestern and 
Continental brought a special train of private cars 
into the Basin. At Deep Well Junction Jefferson 
Worth, Abe Lee, the Seer and Willard Holmes 
boarded the train and entered the car of the general 
manager, where the officials representing the highest 
authority in the great trans-continental system had 
gathered to meet them in consultation. 

At Republic the president of The King’s Basin 
Land and Irrigation Company with his manager and 
chief engineer joined them, and the train moved on 
until, at a word from Holmes, the conductor gave 
the signal to stop. From the windows and platform 
of the car the party could see the water extending to 
the south and west mile after mile, and nearer the 
huge plunging cataracts with leaping columns of 
spray, while the roar of the falls, the crashing and 

471 


THE WIKNTNG OF BARBARA WORTH 


booming of the caving banks shook the air with heavj 
vibrations and the earth trembled with the shock of 
the plunging waters and the falling masses of earth 
Just ahead, where Kingston had stood, the track 
ended on the bank of the deep gorge. From here the 
party was driven in comfortable spring wagons to the 
scene of the Company’s defeat. 

Save for the camps of the laborers, the boats, pile 
drivers, implements and materials of their warfare 
and the debris of their wrecked structures, not a sign 
of their work remained, while through the breach — * 
widened now to nearly a quarter of a mile — the great 
river poured its hundred and fifty thousand second 
feet of muddy water with terrific velocity and solemn, 
awful power. 

When the party had viewed the situation, the rail 
road men with Mr. Greenfield retired to the tent of 
the Company’s chief engineer. 

A little apart from Jefferson Worth and his two 
companions, Willard Holmes stood alone on the brink 
of the broken embankment looking down into the 
swirling muddy waters. He knew that his time had 
come. He knew that at that moment the railroad 
officials were concluding a deal with The King’s 
Basin Land and Irrigation Company through its 
president, by which the S. & C. would assume control 
of the situation and attempt to save the reclamation 
work. His chief had told him to be ready. He was 
ready. 

In the railroad yards at Rubio City and on ever? 
available side-track for several miles east and west 
were standing train-loads of ties and rails. In the 


472 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


yards at the Coast city were cars loaded with 
machinery, implements and supplies. In the yards 
at the harbor were other train-loads of timber and 
piling. With the readiness of a perfectly equipped 
and organized army the forces of the S. & C., backed 
by the resources of that powerful system, waited the 
word, while every moment the disaster that threat- 
ened the pioneers drew nearer. From the roaring 
river at his feet Willard Holmes turned to look 
toward the tent. Why were they so slow ? 

Then his face lighted up and he took an eager step 
forward as the private secretary of the general mam 
ager came out of the tent and hurried toward him. 

“They want you, Mr. Holmes,” said the young 
man. The engineer went quickly to answer the calk 

When he entered the tent every man in the party 
turned toward the engineer. “Holmes,” said his chief, 
“we will attempt to close the break. You will take 
charge at once.” 

Within an hour the forces of The King’s Basin 
Land and Irrigation Company already on the ground 
were set to work under the Seer preparing the grade 
for a spur-track that would leave the main line near 
the river fifteen miles north of the break, and 
Holmes, with Abe Lee, set out on horseback for Rubio 
City. 

With the return of the general manager and his 
party to their train, the movement already planned 
began. Without hurry but with ready promptness 
the orders, voiced by the hundreds of clicking tele- 
graph instruments covering the district affected by 
the operations, were obeyed. Special trains carried 

473 


THE WIKHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


Jefferson Worth’s force of railroad builders with 
teams and equipment to the point at which the spur 
track would connect with the main line where, under 
Abe Lee, they began pushing the gracta southward to 
meet the forces that, under the Seer, were working 
northward from the front. 

Throughout the Basin the call for men and teams 
was issued by Jefferson Worth, and the pioneers, 
answering as the Minute Men of old, were hurried 
to the scene where they found trainloads of equip- 
ment waiting ready for their use, while every houi 
brought reinforcements — laborers of many national* 
ities gathered in the cities of the coast by the agents 
of the railroad company. 

The waiting trains loaded with ties and steel began 
to move and the construction gangs followed close on 
the heels of the graders. And when the last spike in 
the track to the scene of the decisive battle was 
driven, the track-men with their sledges stepped aside 
to clear the way for the panting engines that drew 
the first train loaded with piling and timbers for the 
trestle. 

Hour by hour now, without pause or halt, the men 
under Willard Holmes working in shifts met the Rio 
Colorado in a hand-to-hand fight for The King’s 
Basin lands. By day under the white, semi-tropical 
sun, by night in the light of locomocive headlights 
that gleamed strangely over the dark swirling floods, 
the trestles were forced further and further out into 
the plunging current that wrenched and twisted and 
tugged with terrific strength in a mad wrestle with 
those who dared attempt to check its sullen destruet- 


474 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


tv© will, while steadily, irresistibly, the canyon-cut 
ting falls drew nearer and nearer. It was not alone 
the magnitude of the task directed by Willard 
Holmes that made the work heroic. It was that this 
seemingly impossible work must be accomplished 
against time. In his fight with the river the engineer 
raced against a destructive force which, if it reached 
the scene of the struggle before the battle was won, 
would make final defeat certain and place the Colo- 
rado, so far as The King’s Basin reclamation was 
concerned, beyond control of men. 

As the engineer stood on the trestle above the mad, 
vhirling currents, directing his men in their efforts 
to drive the piling in thirty feet of water that- — as 
one veteran expressed it — “ran like the mill tails of 
hell,” he fancied he could hear above the roar of the 
river against the structure, the blows of the heavy 
driver, the rattle of cable and chain and windlass, the 
grinding and squeaking of the straining timbers and 
the shouts of the men — the menacing thunder of that 
moving cataract a few miles away. While he paced 
the embankments, studying the set of the currents, 
observing the form and action of the eddies or receiv- 
ing the hourly reports from the river gauge at Rubio 
City, and held consultation with his assistants, he 
often turned his head involuntarily to look anxiously 
away in the direction of the racing falls. 

Only when his exhausted body and wearied brain 
refused to respond longer to his will would he throw 
himself fully dressed upon a cot in his tent for an 
hour’s sleep. His face grew haggard and deeply 
fined with anxious care, his hollow eyes — dark 

475 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


rimmed — were bloodshot and burning as if with 
fever, his jaws were set as if by sheer power of his 
will he would beat the river into submission. And 
he barked his orders shortly in a hoarse strained voice 
that told of nerves stretched almost to the breaking 
point. In critical moments, when it looked as though 
the river in the next instant would reduce their work 
to a hopeless wreck, the engineer, standing on the 
trembling timbers or clinging to the swaying pile- 
driver itself, seemed to those who did his bidding to 
become the very incarnation of human courage and 
power. 

The Seer and Abe Lee, remembering the man who 
had come out from the East to go with them on that 
preliminary survey, wondered at the transformation. 
Then Willard Holmes was the servant of Capital that 
used people for its own gain. He saw his work then 
only as a means to the end that his Company might 
make money. Now, though employed still by a cor- 
poration, he was a master who used the power at his 
command in behalf of the people. He had come to 
look upon his work as a service to the world and 
through that service only he served his employers. 
It was as if in this man, born of the best blood of a 
nation-building people, trained by the best of the 
cultured East — trained as truly by his life and work 
in the desert — it was as though, in him, the best 
spirit of the age and race found expression. 

At last the trestles were pushed across the break, 
the track was laid and the gigantic work of filling 
the channel was begun. In every rock quarry reached 
by the S. & C. within two hundred and fifty miles of 

476 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORT ii 


the battle, men were drilling and blasting and with 
steam shovels and derricks were loading cars with 
material for the fill. At the word from Willard 
Holmes these rock trains steamed swiftly to the front, 
everything giving them the right of way. Merchants 
and manufacturers east and west cursed the railroad 
because their shipments were delayed. Passengers, 
held for hours on the sidings, complained, scolded, 
protested and threatened. It was an outrage ! 
declared the tourists in their luxurious Pullmans that 
they should be forced to give up an hour of their 
pleasure in order that a train load of rock might 
make better time. But, unheeding, the great battle- 
ships, each with its fifty cubic yards of stone, and the 
flats and gondolas, each with its tons of material, 
thundered away to the scene of the struggle. Every 
five minutes, night and day, from the moment of the 
completion of the trestles until the fill was above the 
danger point a car of rock was dumped into the 
break. 

So the task was accomplished; the fight was won. 
The Rio Colorado was checked in its work of destruc- 
tion and beaten back into its old channel. The thou- 
sands of acres of The King’s Basin lands that would 
have been forever lost to the race through one cor- 
poration were saved by another ; and the man, who — 
without protest — had built for his employers’ gain 
the inadequate structures that endangered the work 
of the pioneers, led the forces that won the victory. 

The afternoon of the day on which the break was 
finally closed three private cars came in with the rock 
trains. The passengers were the general manager 

477 


THE WIPING OF BARBARA WORTH 


and the general superintendent with their wives, 
Jefferson Worth and a small party of friends. 

Leaving their cars the party walked toward a point 
below the rock embankment where they could look 
down into the now empty gorge. With this visible 
evidence of the river’s power before them, the visitors 
exclaimed with wonder. 

When the superintendent had explained the magni- 
tude of the work, the difficulties encountered and how 
the task had been accomplished, the general manager, 
who — here and there — had added a word, said % 
‘‘After all, friends, taking into consideration money, 
equipment and everything, the whole question of a 
work like this, or of any great enterprise, resolves 
itself into a question of men. It’s up to the man on 
the job. We have the system, the machinery without 
which this work could not have been done. We have 
the capital to supply material and labor — but that 
man up there closed the break.” 

As he spoke he pointed to a figure standing on the 
upper trestle above the fill — outlined against the sky c 

Then the party climbed the grade to the tracks 
again and walked to the end of the upper trestle. 
Turning, the engineer saw and came towards them. 
Silently they stood to receive him. From boots to 
Stetson his khaki trousers and rough shirt were 
stained with mud and grime, his eyes were sunken in 
dark hollows, his worn face was unshaven and his 
hair, when he removed his hat, was unkempt. He 
did not look like a hero ; he looked more like some 
ruffian just from a prolonged debauch. But the little 
party burst into applause. 

478 


THE WINNING OF BAEBAEA WOETBL 


The engineer smiled as his chief went forward 
from the group to grasp him by the hand. For a 
moment they talked of the work. Then the official^ 
olacing his hand on the engineer’s arm, said : “Come* 
Holmes, we have some women here who want to meet 
the man who mastered the Colorado.” 

The engineer protested. He was “not presentable.^ 
“Presentable ! You’re the most presentable man I 
know of this minute. Come along, there’s my wife 
making signs to me to hurry right now.” 

There was nothing for Holmes to do but to go. 
A moment later he was face to face with the rest of 
the party and — with Barbara Worth. 




CHAPTER XXXV, 
MATURE AND HUMAN NATURE 


WO weeks after the victory of Willard 
Holmes in the River war the engineer 
arrived in Republic on the evening train 
from the city by the sea. 

At the hotel he was quickly surrounded by the 
pioneer citizens, who were eager to greet him with 
expressions of appreciation for his work. But it was 
Horace P. Blanton who did the talking. 

Horace P., in his brave picture-general hat, his 
impressively swelling front of white vest and his 
black clerical tie, was the personification of economic, 
financial and scholastic — not to say ecclesiastic, dig- 
nity. His greeting of the engineer was majestic. 
But, as a royal sovereign might welcome the return- 
ing general of his conquering armies with sadness at 
the thought of the lives his victories had cost, the 
countenance of Horace P. expressed a noble grief. 

“Willard,” he said, his voice charged with emo- 
tion, “I congratulate you. You are the savior of this 
imperial King’s Basin. When we saw that Green- 
field’s Company was not able to handle the awful 
situation, I told my friend the general manager and 
our other officials of the S. & C. that they must come 
to the rescue without an instant’s delay and that you 
must be put in charge of the work. I knew that if 
any man on earth could stop that river, you could. 



4 bu 


THE WISHING OF BARBARA WORTH 


So we decided to let you go ahead. You have justi- 
fied my confidence nobly, Willard; you certainly 
have. I’m proud of you, old man; I am indeed.” 

The engineer tried manfully to appreciate the 
spirit of the speaker’s words. With that white vest 
and black tie before him, to say nothing of the picture 
hat that crowned the massive head, it was impossible 
for Holmes not to wish that he could appreciate 
Horace P. Blanton’s spirit — it hungered so for 
appreciation. 

“I am very grateful to you, Mr. Blanton,” said the 
engineer. “But really I feel that you over-estimate 
my part in the work. I — ” 

“Hot at all; not at all, my dear boy. I knew my 
man and I was not disappointed. But the cost — ” 
he shook his kingly head sorrowfully and heaved a 
majestic sigh. “Confidentially, Willard, I estimate 
that the financial losses of Greenfield and myself 
alone are close on to a million. I haven’t a thing left. 
Wiped me out clean.” 

Holmes looked really sympathetic. He knew that 
every dollar that Horace P. Blanton ever spent was 
a dollar belonging to someone else, but even mythical 
losses of mythical property, when suffered by Horace 
P., demanded sympathy. The man in the white vest 
felt them so keenly and strove with such noble cour- 
age to bear them bravely. 

Encouraged by the engineer’s interest and the 
presence of the little crowd of pioneers, the speaker 
continued: “When I saw our beautiful town — the 
town that we had built with our own hands — falling 
in ruins into that terrible chasm, I cried 1 ike a baby, 


481 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


sir.” Even as he spoke his eyes filled with manly 
tears which he made no attempt to hide. Then he 
lifted his majestic bulk grandly and looked about 
with kingly countenance. “But I shall stay with it, 
Willard. I shall stay and help these people to regain 
their losses. We cant desert them now. If my cred' 
itors will give me a little time, and I am sure they 
will, not a man shall lose a penny, no matter what it 
costs me.” 

The sentence was a bit ambiguous but it was a 
noble resolution, worthy of such a lofty soul. 

At this moment a boy with the evening papers 
approached the group. “Here son, my paper,” called 
Horace P. 

The boy gripped his wares with a firm hand. “I 
got to have my money first. You ain’t done nothin’ 
but promise for a month.” 

“Boy! Give. me my paper. You shall have your 
money to-morrow,” he thundered from the depths 
beneath the white vest. 

The boy backed away. “I dassn’t do it. I can’t 
live on hot air.” 

With an imperial air, as if tremendous stakes hung 
upon the trivial incident, the great man said to 
Holmes: “Excuse me, Willard; I must see about 
this,” and with a firm and determined step he left 
the hotel. 

A hush fell upon the company of pioneers. Hot 
one of them but would have gladly — had he dared — 
offered the outraged monarch the price of a paper 
The King’s Basin settlers were proud of Horace P. 

But that night Horace P. Blanton boarded the 


482 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


north-bound train and was never seen in The King’s 
Basin again. His creditors — and they are many, 
from the newsboy to the hotel manager, the barber, 
the laundry agent, the liveryman and boot-black — 
are still “giving him time,” as he was confident that 
they would. The pioneers miss him sorely, but they 
manage to struggle along without him, living perhaps 
in the hope that he will some day come back. 

In the silence that followed the passing of Horace 
P., Willard Holmes slipped away from the group of 
men and approached the Manager of The King’s 
Basin Land and Irrigation Company, who was sit- 
ting alone with his cigar in a far corner of the room. 

“Hello, old man,” was Burk’s greeting as the 
engineer approached. The thoughtful Manager of 
the Company had been an interested observer of his 
friend’s reception and of the newspaper incident. As 
tho two men shook hands the Manager’s cigar shifted 
to one corner of his mouth and his head tipped 
toward the opposite shoulder. “How much did 
Horace P. touch you for, Willard ?” 

“I gave him my admiration and sympathy.” 

The other shook his head wonder ingly. “A special 
providence watches over you, my son. After that, 
nothing could have saved your pocket-book if that 
kid had not been sent by your guardian angel to your 
rescue. When did you leave the river ?” 

“Last week. The S. & C. called me into the city. 
I’m on my way back to the work now. What’s the 
news ?” 

Burk grinned. “The first train over the King’s 
Basin Central went out this morning with a special 


483 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


party of distinguished citizens — Jefferson Worth, the 
Seer, Abe Lee and Miss Worth. The lady will spend 
a week or two in the town of Barba and with friends 
in the South Central District. Texas Joe and Pat 
left this morning in a rig, leading Miss Worth’s 
saddle horse, El Capitan. It’s all in The King’s 
Basin Messenger.” He handed the paper to Holmes 
who mechanically stuffed it into his pocket. 

“How’s Uncle Jim?” 

“He is at the office, I think. You know he is 
winding up the affairs of the poor old K. B. L 
and I.” 

“So I understand.” 

The two men were silent for a moment, then Burk 
said thoughtfully : “It’s hard lines for the Company, 
Willard, but the mules, including your humble serv- 
ant, don’t seem to care much. That’s one advantage 
in being a mule. I will be glad to get back to civiliza- 
tion and so will your Uncle Jim I fancy. Take it 
altogether I don’t think he has enjoyed watching the 
success of Jefferson Worth’s little experiments as 
much as we have. The same beneficent power that 
has knocked out the Company seems to have taken 
good care of friend Jeff.” 

“You are not going to stay in the West?” asked 
the engineer. 

“I go Monday. I understand there is still » 
demand for good mules back home.” 

The president of the wrecked Company received 
his former chief engineer warmly, and heartily con- 
gratulated him on the success of his battle with the 
river. 


484 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 

“I suppose you know, Willard,” he said, “that The 
King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Company has vir- 
tually passed into the hands of the S. & C. ? We 
owe them a good half million for closing the break, 
which means that they will have to take over the 
property. We knew when we went into the deal how 
it would end, of course. If you had remained with 
the Company the river never would have had a chance 
to get in at all.” 

The younger man did not remind Mr. Greenfield 
of the many times the Company had been urged to 
make the improvements that would have prevented 
the disaster, nor did he suggest that he would have 
remained with the Company had not the president 
himself discharged him. “Your engineer did all that 
any man could do after the break was made,” he said 
warmly. “It was the equipment and organization of 
the S. & C. that put the river back in its channel, and 
no other power on earth, under the circumstances, 
could have done it in time to head off that back-cut.” 

The older man smiled. “We all know who closed 
the break, my boy. I suppose you are planning to 
stay with the railroad ?” 

“They have offered me the management of the 
irrigation work here in the Basin. They are going 
to put in permanent structures and reconstruct the 
whole system in first-class shape.” 

“And you accepted ?” There was a note of anxiety 
in the older man’s voice. 

“Not yet. I asked for a few days to consider.” 

James Greenfield did not speak for several 
minutes, then he said — hesitating as if searching for 


485 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


words : “Don't do it, Willard. Don't do it, for my 
sake. Let's go back borne. You know bow I bate 
this cursed country. I ought never to have gone into 
tbis deal after wbat I bad already suffered in tbe 
West. But it looked as if I could clean up a good 
thing and get out. Personally, my money losses don't 
amount to anything. I have enough left for both of 
us, and you know, Willard my boy, that it's all yours 
when I go. Come back home with me and leave tbis 
damned bole! We don’t fit in here; let's go back 
where we belong. I'm coming along now to tbe time 
when I must begin to think of getting out of tbe 
game ; and I need you, my boy, I need you." 

Willard Holmes was strongly moved by tbe appeal 
of tbis man for whom be bad a son's affection. “I 
wish I could say yes, Uncle Jim," be answered. “I 
owe you more than I can ever repay, and if it was 
only tbe work here I would go. But — there's some- 
thing else — something that I cannot give up if I 
would — that I have no right to give up." 

“You mean that girl? I thought that was all 
settled." 

“So did I," returned tbe other grimly. “When 1 
talked with you about it I thought there was no 
possible chance for me, and perhaps I was right. But 
I can't let it go now without absolute certainty." 

“You don't mean, Willard, that you are going to 
offer yourself to a woman whose love you have every 
reason to think belongs to another man ?" 

The engineer rose to his feet and walked up and 
down the room. When he spoke there was in his voice 
a suggestion of that which marked his speech in the 

436 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


days of the river fight. “I mean this: that no man 
on earth shall take this woman from me if I can 
prevent it. I would deserve to lose her if I gave her 
up on the mere guess that she cared for another man. 
I am going to know from her own words. If there 
is still a chance for me I am going to stay and fight 
for it. If I have no chance” — he dropped into a 
chair — “then I’ll go back with you, Uncle Jim.” 

James Greenfield’s face flushed hotly at the 
younger man’s words and then, in the silence that 
followed, grew pale and stern while his fingers 
gripped his pencil nervously. “Very well, Willard,” 
he said at last. “You are a man and your own 
master. If your love for me cannot influence you — ” 

“Uncle Jim!” The engineer’s cry was a protest 
and an appeal, but the other continued as though he 
had not heard: “I can urge no other consideration. 
But you must understand this. I will never receive 
this nameless woman of unknown parentage as your 
wife. If you prefer her with that illiterate, low, 
cunning trickster whom she calls father, you need 
never expect to come back to me. I have been true 
to your mother in my care for you. I have done all 
in my power to give you the place in life that you are 
entitled to fill by your birth and family. You have 
been my son in everything but blood. But, by God, 
sir! if you, with your breeding and raising — if you 
can turn your back upon the memory of your mother 
and father and upon me and all that we stand for — 
if you can turn your back upon us, desert us for these 
— these damned cattle, you can herd with them the 
rest of your life.” 


487 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


He was on his feet now, pacing the fioor angrily. 
The engineer had also risen and stood waiting for 
this storm of wrath to spend itself. 

“Understand me,” the older man continued. “If 
she refuses you, you can come back. If she accepts 
you, you need never show your face to me again, and 
I shall take good care that your friends at home 
understand the reason. Probably if you let these 
people know what the result will be if you are 
accepted it will make a great difference in the 
woman’s answer.” 

Willard Holmes dared not speak. Nothing but his 
life-long love for the man w T hose devotion to the engh 
neer’s mother had stood the test of years enabled the 
younger man to control himself. When he could 
speak calmly he said: “I am sorry, sir, that you 
said that; for you must see how you have made it 
impossible for me now ever to go back with you. If 
Miss Worth does not care for me, I would have been 
glad to go home with you, for next to her, Uncle 
Jim, you are more to me than anyone in the world. 
When you say that my relation to you shall depend 
upon her answer you make it impossible for her 
answer to make any difference so far as you and I 
are concerned. Won’t you — won’t you reconsider. 
Uncle Jim ? Won’t you take back your words ?” 

“No, sir; I have said exactly what I mean.” 

. “Good-by, sir.” 

“Good-by.” 

When the office door had closed behind the engi- 
neer, James Greenfield stood motionless in the center 
of the room. Once he took a step toward the door 


488 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA. WORTH 


but checked himself. Then turning slowly, wearily, 
he sank into the chair before his desk. For a few 
moments he fumbled aimlessly over the papers and 
documents, then from his pocket took a flat leather 
case and, opening it, held in his hand a portrait of 
the engineer’s mother. As he looked at the face of 
the woman who had never ceased to hold the first 
place in his heart, his lips framed words he could not 
speak aloud. 

Slowly his form drooped, his head bowed. Then, 
with the picture held close, he buried his face in his 
arms among the business papers on his desk 


CHAPTER XXXVI, 

OUT OF THE HOLLOW OF GOD'S HAND. 

HE first train from Republic to Barba ovei 
the new King’s Basin Central arrived in the 
town by the old Dry River Crossing shortly 
after noon. Later in the day Jefferson Worth with 
his daughter, his superintendent and the Seer went 
to the power plant on the bank of Dry River. 

When the plant was built it was placed as low in 
the old wash as the depth of the ancient channel 
would permit, so that the greatest possible fall from 
the Company canal above might be secured. As 
Jefferson Worth and his companions stood now on 
the bank of the river they saw the waste-way from 
the turbine wheel that ran the generators nearly 
thircy feet above the bottom of the channel. The 
flood that had cut the deep canyons through the heart 
of the Basin, destroying Kingston on its course, had 
worked on a smaller scale in the old Dry River wash, 
cutting a narrow gorge nearly fifty feet deep from 
its outlet at the new sea past the power plant at Barba 
and nearly to the spillway of the main canal. 

Standing almost on the very spot where they had 
found the baby girl years before, the Seer asked 
Barbara’s father: “Jeff, does your contract with 
The King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Company call 
for a certain amount of water, or for water to 
develop a certain amount of power?” 



EbEJ 


•THE WINNING- OF BARBARA WORTH 


Jefferson Worth answered in his careful, exact 
voice : “The first contract called for water to develop 
a certain amount of power. This new one is a con- 
tract for three hundred inches of water. There’s 
nothing in it about the amount of power, but it gives 
me the sole rights to all the power privileges on the 
Company property. You see, when Greenfield tried 
to change the line of their canal so as to cut me out, 
Abe and I had begun to figure that some day the water 
from the spillway might cut down the channel and 
give us a little more drop. But we never counted on 
this, of course. I simply figured that I might just 
as well make the new contract safe.” 

The Seer smiled. “You made it safe all right, 
J eff. Do you know what this cut means to you ?” 

“In a way, yes. That’s why I wanted you to look 
at it.” 

“It means,” said the Seer, “that you have rights 
here worth a million dollars at least. By lowering 
your turbine to the bottom of this cut you can, with 
the same amount of water that you are now using, 
develop power enough to run every electric light 
system and turn every wheel in all The King’s Basin 
for years to come.” 

“You mean that the river breaking in and doing 
this has made daddy’s property worth a million 
dollars ?” asked Barbara breathlessly. 

The Seer turned toward her. “Yes, Barbara. The 
same force that destroyed Kingston and wrecked the 
Company has increased the value of your father’s 
holding to fully that amount. A million is very con- 
servative.” 


491 


THE WIKNTHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


The young woman looked down into the gorge at 
their feet. Slowly she said : “The Indians must be 
right. This must be indeed La Palma de la Mano 
de Dios. Such things could happen nowhere else.” 

She had just finished speaking when the sound of 
wheels behind caused them to turn toward the desert 
and the old San Felipe trail. It was Texas and Pat 
in the buckboard with El Capitan leading behind. 

Catching sight of the group on the river bank, the 
men turned aside from the road and went to them. 
“Howdy folks,” drawled Tex. “We ’lowed we’d jest 
about meet up with you-all somewhere about here.” 

“Sure, ’tis a family reunion we do be havin’, wid 
no empthy chairs at all,” declared the Irishman, 
looking from face to face with twinkling eyes. “Well, 
well, who’d a thought now that the little kid we found 
under the bank here, sheared av the coyotes an’ more 
sheared av us rough-necks, wud av growed up like 
this ? An’ wid me a shwearin’ by all the saints I 
knew that I wud niver set fut on the disert again. 
Here we are once more altogether, wid Barbara an’ 
Abe bigger than life. ’Tis the danged owld disert 
itsilf that’s a-lavin’ niver to come back at all.” He 
drew the back of his huge hairy hand across his eyes. 

Barbara’s eyes too were wet, and the others turned 
away their faces. Pat’s words had recalled so vividly 
the scene at the dry water hole with the changes that 
the years had brought both to them and to the desert. 

It was Texas Joe who broke the silence. “Mr. 
Worth, Pat and I would like to see you some time 
this evenin’ if you ain’t engaged.” 

“What is it, Tex?” As he spoke Jefferson Worth 


492 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


looked straight into the eyes of the old plainsman r 
Texas Joe, gazing steadily into the face of his 
employer, drawled easily: “Jest a little matter we 
Towed maybe you’d like to know about, sir. What 
time shall we come ?” 

Something — the memories of the place, perhaps, 
aroused by the words of Pat a moment- "before — 
caused Jefferson Worth to lift those nervous fingers 
and softly caress his chin. “I guess I can go now. 
We’re all through here.” He turned to the others. 
“I’ll go on to the hotel with Tex and Pat and you 
folks can come along later when you are ready.” 

He stepped into the buckboard and with the two 
drove away. At a livery barn where they stopped to 
leave the horses, Texas took from under the seat of 
the buckboard something that was wrapped in a sack 
that had held a feed of grain for the team and E] 
Capitan. 

When they had reached the privacy of Mr. Worth’s 
room, the old plainsman and the Irishman stood as if 
each waited for the other to begin. 

“Well, men,” said Jefferson Worth. “What is it?” 

“Go on, ye owld oysther,” growled Pat to Tex. 
“Why the hell don’t ye tell the boss what we’ve come 
to tell him. Shpake up.” 

Texas Joe cleared his throat and began formally: 
“I don’t reckon, Mr. Worth, that you-all has forgot 
that outfit we left in them sand hills back yonder on 
the old San Felipe trail the time we found the kid.” 

At the words Jefferson Worth’s face became a 
gray mask from behind which his mind reached out 
as though to grasp what Texas would say before the 

493 


THE WIKN1NG OF BARBARA WORTH 


man put it into words. “Well?” The single word 
came with the colorless sound of dull mefal. 

“Also I reckon you know how them big drifts are 
alius on the move, so that when they covers up any- 
thing, say an outfit like that one, it stands to reason 
that some day they’ll drift on an’ leave it clear 
again.” 

Jefferson Worth’s hands were gripping the arms of 
his chair. His gray lips could frame no sound. 

“I’ve alius kind a-kept an eye on that there par- 
ticular ridge,” continued Texas, “an’ so to-day me 
and Pat stopped for a little look around an’ ” — slowly 
he unwrapped the grain sack from a long tin box — 
“an’ we found this.” He laid the box carefully on 
the table before Barbara’s father. “Hit was a-layin r 
with what was left of a bigger wooden box or trunk, 
which same had gone to pieces, and there was a part 
of that old wagon with that same piece of a halter- 
strap you remember fastened to a wheel. There ain’t 
no sort of doubt, Mr. Worth, that hit’s the same outfit 
an’ hits mighty likely that there’s papers in here 
that’ll tell us what we tried so hard to find out at 
first, but what” — he paused and looked around, then 
finished in a low tone — “I don’t reckon any of us 
wants to know now.” 

Jefferson Worth sat motionless in his chair, his 
eyes fixed upon the tin box. 

The heavy voice of the Irishman broke the quiet. 

“Av Tex wud a listened to raison, Sorr, I’d 
a-dumped the danged thing into the river, sayin’ 
nothin’ to nobody. Fwhat good can we do rakin’ up 
the past that’s dead an’ gone ? The girl is as much 


494 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


yers as if she was yer own flesh an’ blood, an’ who 
can say fwhat divil’s own mess may come out av this 
thing ? Lave it alone, I say ; an’ fwhat nobody don’t 
know can’t hurt thim. ’Twas wrong intirely to bring 
ut to ye afther all ye’ve been sich a father to the little 
one. Lave it to me, Sorr. Give me the word an’ I’ll” 
— he reached eagerly for the box, but Jefferson Worth 
held up his slim, nervous hand. 

“Wait a moment, Pat. I — I don’t think that 

would be right.” 

Never before had these men seen Jefferson Worth 
hesitate. The will of the man, whose cold decision 
had carried him through so many critical situations 
and upon which the pioneers had relied in the recent 
time of peril, seemed to fail him at last. The spec- 
tacle told the men more clearly than words could 
have done what he suffered. “I — I don’t know what 
to do,” he finished weakly. “Give me time. Let me 
think.” He bowed his face in his hands. 

Pat growled an oath under his breath and Texas 
turned his eyes from his companions to the box and 
from the box back to his friends in bewildered uncer- 
tainty. At last he said in his soft southern drawls 
“Mr. Worth, hit’s dead sure that me an’ Pat ain’t 
helpin’ you none in this. I reckon I was all wrong 
to bring hit to you at all. But hit seemed like I was 
plumb balled up an’ couldn’t rightly say what was 
best. There ain’t really no call to crowd this thing 
as I can see. Suppose you takes your time to think 
it over. Me an’ Pat’ll let you alone, an’ if you decides 
to fergit all about hit, you can bet your last red we’ll 
be damn glad to help. Nobody but us three will ever 

495 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


know. ’T ain’t as if it was a-doin* anybody any 
harm.” 

Jefferson Worth raised his head. “ Thank you 
boys,” he said. “Ell have to figure on this thing a 
little.” 

Left alone, Jefferson Worth faced the temptation 
of his life. Dearer to this lonely-hearted man than 
all the wealth and power that he would realize from 
his King’s Basin work was the child who had come 
to him out of the desert. The man knew that it was 
the influence of Barbara upon his life that had pre- 
pared him for that night in the sand hills and 
enabled him rightly to weigh and measure and value 
the efforts of his kind. That afternoon at the power 
house it had all been brought before him with start- 
ling vividness. He felt that in all that he had accom- 
plished in Barbara’s Desert he had been led by the 
child, who had come to him out of The Hollow of 
God’s Hand. The desert had given her to him; he 
had given himself in return to the work she loved. 
He could not think of his work apart from her. She 
was his— his — his. His gray lips whispered the 
words as he stood looking down at the box. Ho one 
had the right to take her from him ; to come into her 
life. And yet — and yet. He reached out and laid 
his hand upon the box, then, turning again, paced 
the room. 

Suddenly he whirled about and approached the 
table. With cold fury he seized the box and placing 
it upon the floor, broke the light tin fastening with 
his boot-heel. Again he paused and looked dully at 
the thing in his hands. Then with a quick moR^» 

496 


THE WINNING OF BARBAEA WORTH 


he threw up the cover. The box was filled with docu- 
ments and letters, with four or five old photographs. 

The address on a large unsealed envelope met his 
eye and he started back with a low cry as though he 
had looked upon some startling apparition. 

When Barbara with the Seer and Abe returned to 
the hotel that evening the clerk gave her a note from 
her father who, the note explained, had been called 
to Republic on business of importance. He would 
be back to-morrow. 

The clerk said that Mr. Worth had left only a few 
minutes before with the engine and car that had 
brought them to Barba that morning. 


m 


CHAPTER XXXVII. 

BACK TO THE OLD SAN FELIPE TRAIL 

X the office of The King’s Basin Land and 
Irrigation Company, James Greenfield was 
aroused by a knock at the door. He lifted 
his head from his arms and looked around as if 
awakened out of a deep sleep. 

Another knock, and he slipped the picture he held 
in his hand into his pocket and called, “Come in.” 

The door opened and Jefferson Worth stepped into 
the room. 

For a moment the president of the wrecked Com= 
pany sat staring at his business rival, then he leaped 
to his feet, his fists clenched and his face working 
with passion. “You can’t come in here, sir. Get 
out!” he said with the voice and manner he would 
have assumed in speaking to a trespassing dog. 

Jefferson Worth stood still. “I have business of 
importance with you, Mr. Greenfield,” he said, and 
his air of quiet dignity contrasted strangely with the 
rage of the larger man. 

“You can have no business with me of any son 
whatever. I have nothing to do with your kind 
This is my private office. I tell you to get out.” 

Jefferson Worth turned calmly as though to obey* 
but instead of leaving the room closed the door and 
locked it. Then, placing the small grip he carried 





THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


iipon the table, he deliberately went close to the 
threatening president and said coldly : “This is rank 
nonsense, Greenfield. I won’t leave this office until 
I’m through with what I came to do. I have business 
with you that concerns you as much as it does me.” 

“You’re a damned thief, a low sharper ! I tell you 
I have nothing to do with you. Now get out or I’ll 
throw you out!” 

Jefferson Worth answered in his exact, precise 
manner, as though carefully choosing and considering 
his words: “No, you won’t throw me out. You’ll 
listen to what I have come to tell you. The rest of 
vour statement, Greenfield, is false and you know it. 
It will be just as w T ell for you not to repeat it.” The 
last low-spoken words did not appear to be uttered as 
a threat but as a calm statement of a carefully con 
sidered fact. James Greenfield felt as a man who 
permits himself to rage against an immovable 
obstacle — as one who spends his strength cursing a 
stone wall that bars his way or a rock that lies in his 
path. With an effort he regained a measure of hie 
self-control. 

“Well, out with it. What do you want ?” 

“Sit down,” said Worth, pointing to a chair 
Mechanically the other obeyed. “You have no reason 
for taking this attitude toward me, Mr. Greenfield,” 
began Worth with his air of simply stating a fact. 

At his words the wrath of the other again mastered 
him. “No reason! You — you dare to tell me that? 
When you and the young woman that you call your 
daughter have come between me and the boy who is 
more than a son to me ! When you have broken otur 


499 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


close relationship of years’ standing and robbed me 
of bis companionship ! When yon have wrecked and 
ruined all my plans for bis future ! When you have 
defeated the object of my life! No reason? But 
what can you understand of us ? You’re a nobody, 
sir, without a place or a name in the world ; a com- 
mon, low-bred, ignorant sharper with no family but a 
nameless daughter of unknown parentage whom you 
found on the desert. How can you understand what 
Willard Holmes is to me?” 

“I figured that you would feel this way about it,” 
came the colorless words. “ That’s what I came here 
for to-night — to fix it up.” 

The angry amazement of Greenfield at what he 
considered the man’s presumption could find no 
expression. 

Worth continued: “I know a great deal more 
about you and your folks than you think. When I 
saw that my”* — he hesitated over the word, then 
spoke it plainly — “my daughter was becoming inter- 
ested in Willard Holmes, I took some pains to look 
up his history. In doing that I naturally found out 
a good deal about you. Later I learned a good deal 
more.” 

“It is immaterial to me what you know,” muttered 
the other in a tone of deep disgust. “What do you 
want ?” 

Worth spoke with quiet dignity. “I want you to 
understand first, Mr. Greenfield, that my, girl is just 
as much to me as young Holmes is to you. You are 
right : I am a. nobody, ignorant and all that, but you 
must not think Mr. Greenfield that because you 


THE WIHHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 

belong in Hew York and I belong in the West that 
this thing is harder for you than it is for me. You 
are not going to lose your boy but I” — for the first 
time he hesitated and his voice expressed emotion— 
“I am going to lose my girl.” 

The pathos of this lonely man’s words touched even 
Greenfield. His manner was more gentle as he said 
gruffly : “It’s a bad business, Mr. Worth ; a damned 
bad business for both of us. I wish I had never 
heard of this country.” 

“You’ll feel different about that. Anyway I figare 
that this country and this work will be here long 
after you and I are gone, and so will these young 
people/’ Again he hesitated and his slim fingers 
caressed his chin. Then from behind that gray mask 
he asked : “How much do you know about our find 
ing Barbara in the desert?” 

“I know the story in a general way, that’s alL It 
does not interest me.” 

“Let me tell you the facts.” 

In his brief, colorless sentences Jefferson Worth 
related the incidents of that trip across the desert, 
and as he did so Greenfield began to realize that some 
powerful motive had brought this man to him and 
was forcing him to relate his story with such exact 
care for the details. 

“And you never found the slightest clue even te 
the child’s name?” he asked, when Worth had fin* 
ished. 

Jefferson Worth hesitated, then: “Mr. Greenfield: 
you had a younger brother who came West ?” 

The man gazed at the speaker in amazement as h» 


501 


THE WIHHIHG OF BAKE AKA WORTH 


answered mechanically. “Yes. He died out here 
somewhere — in California, I believe. I was never 
able to learn the details. He was an adventurous lad 
and a good deal of a rover. But why — how — ” As 
the full import of the question dawned upon him 
Greenfield started from his seat. “My God, manl 
You don’t mean — you cannot mean that it was my 
brother Will who was lost in that sandstorm on the 
desert ? That the woman you found by the water 
hole was his wife, Gertrude, and that — that — ” His 
voice sank to a whisper. * “Will wrote me that there 
was a child — that she had Gertrude’s hair and eyes 
I had never seen her.” He turned fiercely upon his 
companion. “And you have kept this from me all 
these years ? You have kept my only brother’s child 
from me? By God, sir! I — But perhaps this is 
all one of your damnable tricks. What proof have 
you that this is so, and if it is, why have you kept 
it a secret ?” 

Jefferson Worth opened his satchel and laid the 
tin box on the desk before the president of The 
King’s Basin Land and Irrigation Company. “This 
box was found this afternoon by Texas Joe and Pat, 
who brought it to me. I opened it. It is all here.” 

When Greenfield had examined the contents of the 
box — letters, some of them written by himself to his 
brother, papers relating to William Greenfield’s busi 
ness affairs and property, and photographs of the 
little family and of the two brothers and their 
parents, he looked up to see Jefferson Worth sitting 
motionless, his form relaxed, his head dropped for- 
ward , 


502 


THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


Suddenly the words of the man who had been & 
father to his brother’s child came back to Greenfield, 
“My girl is just as much to me as young Holmes is 
to you. You are not going to lose your boy, but I 
am going to lose my girl.” In a flash the financier 
saw it all — saw how Jefferson Worth loved Barbara 
as his own child, as Greenfield cared for Willard 
Holmes; saw how Worth might have destroyed the 
papers so strangely brought to light and kept the 
secret; saw and realized a little what strength of 
character it had taken to overcome the temptation., 
and felt what the man was suffering. 

As Greenfield’s hand fell on his shoulder, Jefferson 
Worth slowly lifted his head. Slowly he rose to his 
feet. In silence the two men faced each other. With- 
out a word — for no word was needed — their hands 
met in a firm grip. 

After a little while Greenfi Id asked eagerly? 
“Where is she now, Mr. Worth ? Where is the girl ? 
Does she know? I must see her at once. Come! 
And Willard — I wonder if he is still in town. Come., 
we must go to them.” 

But Jefferson Worth answered: “I’ve been figur- 
ing on that, Mr. Greenfield. You had better let me 
tell Barbara myself. And if I was you, after what 
you have probably said to Holmes on this subject, I 
wouldn’t be in a hurry to tell him. Eor the sake of 
their future we’d better let Barbara handle that mat- 
ter herself. You can easily figure it out that it wiB 
be best for them that way,” 


503 


CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

THE HERITAGE OF BARBARA WORTH 

ARBARA, walking quickly, left the little 
village and, crossing Dry River on the bridge 
that now spanned the deep gorge where the 
old San Felipe trail once led down into the ancient 
wash, climbed the slight grade to the grave that was 
marked by the simple headstone with its one word — 
“Mother.” 

That morning Jefferson Worth had told her of the 
tin box found by Texas Joe and Pat. With reverent 
care she had read the papers and letters and had 
looked long at the portraits of her parents and people. 
She could not at first realize that the desert had at 
last given up the secret that she had so longed to 
know. It was not real to her, the revelation was so 
sudden, so startling. She could not think of herself 
save as the daughter of Jefferson Worth, whom she 
loved as a father. 

As soon as the noon day meal was over she had 
left her room in the hotel, and once out of doors her 
steps had instinctively turned toward her mother’s 
grave beside the old trail. 

Standing before the headstone she looked at the 
one word. “Mother,” she said softly. “Mother!” 
Then, still in a whisper, she repeated the unfamiliar 
names: “Gertrude Greenfield; William Greenfield 



504 



THE WINNING OE BARBARA WORTH 


— my mother; my father! I am Barbara Greenfield 
— Barbara Greenfield!” 

Seating herself on the ground beside the grave, she 
looked about : at the sand hills in the distance ; at the 
Dry River gorge and the power plant; at the canals 
shining like silver bands among the green fields of 
the ranchers to the southeast ; and at the little town 0 
An hour passed ; then another ; and another. 

Across the river she saw Pablo riding out of the 
town and away along the road that follows the canal. 
Then from the power house came Abe Lee with the 
Seer. She watched them as they walked along the 
bank of the old channel. Once she thought she would 
call to them, but hesitated. If they crossed the bridge 
and came up the hill they would be sure to see her. 
So she waited, keeping still. They passed the bridge 
and continued on down the bank of the stream. 

Barbara knew instinctively that they were talking 
of her and the secret that the desert had at last 
revealed, for she had asked her father to tell them. 
She thought of her father who had gone to Republic. 
He would return that evening and Mr. Greenfield, 
her uncle, would be with him. “Her uncle” — how 
strange ! 

Then Barbara saw on the other side of the river a 
horseman riding from the south toward the town. 
She could not mistake the khaki-clad figure that, 
while fully at home in the saddle, still lacked the 
indescribable, easy looseness and swinging grace of 
the western rider. It was Willard Holmes, and the 
young woman’s heart told her why the engineer had 
come. Since that meeting set the river in the hour 


505 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


of his victory she had known that he would come and 
she had known what her answer would be. 

He had evidently ridden from the river, from hi& 
work. Did he know ? No, she decided, he could not 
know yet. Then the quick thought came: he must 
not know until — until she herself should tell hiim 
Quickly the young woman walked down the hill 
across the bridge toward the town. 

Willard Holmes arrived at the hotel and, learning 
that Miss Worth was out, carried a chair to the 
arcade on the street to await her return. He had not 
waited long when a voice at his shoulder said with 
mock formality: “I believe this is Mr. Willard 
Holmes.” 

The engineer sprang to his feet. “Miss Worth) 
The)' told me that you were out. I was sitting here 
waiting for you.” 

“I was out when you arrived,” she confessed ; “but 
I saw you coming and hurried hack pronto. I knew 
you had just left the river, you see. And of course,” 
she added, as though that explained her eagerness to 
see him, “I wanted to hear the latest news from the 
work.” 

“There is no news,” he answered, as though di& 
missing the matter finally. 

“And may I ask what brings you to Barba ?” 

He looked at her steadily. “You brought me to 
Barba.” 

“I?” 

“Yes — you. I stopped in Republic on my way 
back from the city the evening of the day you left, 
I was forced to go on to the river, but took the first 


506 


THE WHSTHIHG OF BARBARA WORTH 


opportunity to ride out here, for I understood yon 
expected to be in Barba several days. Surely you 
know why I have come. The work I stayed in the 
Basin to do is finished. I have another offer from 
the S. & C. which, if I accept, will keep me here for 
several years. I have come to you with it as I came 
with the other. What shall I do ? Please don’t pre- 
tend that you don’t understand me.” 

The direct forcefulness of the man almost made 
Barbara forget the little plan she had arranged on 
her way to the hotel to meet him. “I won’t pretend, 
Mr. Holmes,” she answered seriously. “But — will 
you go with me for a little ride into the desert ?” 

Her words recalled to his mind instantly their first 
meeting in Rubio City, but Holmes was not aston 
ished now. The invitation coming from Barbara 
under the circumstances seemed the most natural 
thing in the world. 

The young woman went to her room to make ready 
while the engineer brought the horses, and in a very 
few minutes they had crossed the river and were 
following the old San Felipe trail toward the sand 
, hills. 

Very, few words passed between them until they 
reached the great drift that had held so long its secret. 
Leaving the horses at Barbara’s request, they climbed 
the steep sides of the great sand mound. From the 
. top they could see on every hand the many miles of 
The King’s Basin country — from Lone Mountain at 
the end of the delta dam to the snow-capped sentinels 
of San Antonio Pass; and from the sky line of the 
Mesa and the low hills on the east to Ho Man’s 


507 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


Mountains and the bold wall of the Coast Range that 
shuts out the beautiful country on the west. 

The soft, many-colored veils and scarfs of ^he 
desert, with the gold of the sand hills, the purple of 
the mountains, the gray and green of the desert 
vegetation, with the ragged patches of dun plain, 
were all there still as when Willard Holmes had 
first looked upon it, for the work of Reclamation 
was still far from finished. 

But there was more in Barbara’s Desert now than 
pictures woven magically in the air. There were 
beautiful scenes of farms with houses and barns and 
fences and stacks, with cattle and horses in the pas- 
tures, and fields of growing grain, the dark green ol 
alfalfa, with threads and lines and spots of water 
that, under the flood of white light from the wide 
sky, shone in the distance like gleaming silver. Bar- 
bara and the engineer could even distinguish the little 
towns of Republic and Frontera, with Barba nearby j 
and even as they looked they marked the tall column 
of smoke from a locomotive on the S. & C. moving 
toward the crossing of the old San Felipe trail, and 
on the King’s Basin Central another, coming toward 
the town on Dry River where once beside a dry water 
hole a woman lay dead with an empty canteen by her 
side. 

Willard Holmes drew a long breath. 

“You like my Desert?” asked the young woman 
softly, coming closer to his side — so close that he 
felt her presence as clearly as he felt the presence 
of the spirit that lives in the desert itself. 


508 


THE WINKING 01 BARBARA WORTH 


“Like it!” lie repeated, turning toward her. “It 
is my desert now; mine as well as yours. Oh, Bar- 
bara! Barbara! I have learned the language of 
your land. Must I leave it now? Won’t you tell 
me to stay ?” 

He held out his hands to her, but she drew back a 
little from his eagerness “Wait. I must know 
something first before I can answer.” 

He looked at her questioningly. “What must you 
know, Barbara?” 

“Did you ever hear the story of what happened 
here in these very sand hills ? Do you know that I 
am not the daughter of Jefferson Worth?” 

“Yes,” he answered gravely. “I know that Mr. 
Worth is not your own father, but I did not know 
that this was the scene of the tragedy.” 

“And you understand that I am nameless; that 
no one knows my parentage? That there may even 
be Mexican or Indian blood in my veins? You 
understand— you realize all that?” 

He started toward her almost roughly. “Yes, I 
understand all that, but I care only that you are 
Barbara. I know only that I want you — you, 
Barbara !” 

“But your family — Mr. Greenfield — your friends 
back home — think what it means to them. Can you 
afford — ” 

“Barbara.” he cried. “Stop ! Why are you saying 
'ese things ? Listen to me. Don’t you know that I 
love you? Don’t you know that nothing else mat- 
ters \ Your Desert has taught me many things, 
dear, but nothing so great as this — that I want you 


509 


THE WINNING OF BARBAKA WORTH 


and that nothing else matters. I want you for my 
wife.” 

“But you said once that you would never marry 
me ” persisted the young woman. “What has changed 
you ?” 

“I said that I would never marry you? I said 
that f That cannot be, Barbara ; you are mistaken.” 

She shook her head. “That is what you said. I 
heard you myself. You told Mr. Greenfield at my 
house that morning he came to see you when you were 
hurt. I — I — the door into the dining room was 
open and I heard.” 

The light of quick understanding broke over the 
engineer’s face. “And you heard what IJncle Jim 
said to me ? But Barbara, didn’t you hear the reason 
I gave him for saying that I would not marry you ?” 

“I — I couldn’t hear anything after that,” she said 
simply. 

At her confession the man’s strong face shone with 
triumph. “Listen, dear, I told Uncle Jim I would 
never marry you because you loved someone else and 
that there was no chance for me.” 

Barbara’s brown eyes opened wide. “You thought 
that?” 

“Yes. I thought you loved Abe Lee.” 

“Why — why I do love Abe.” 

The man laughed. “Of course you do; but I 
thought you loved him as I wanted you to love me; 
don’t you understand?” 

“Oh-h!” The exclamation was a confession, an 
explanation and an expression of complete under- 


510 


THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH 


standing. “But that” — she added as she went t© 
him — “that could not be ” 

And then — 

But Barbara’s words, rightly understood, mark the 
end of my story. 

Rarely is it given in the story of life, to those who 
work greatly or love greatly, to gather the fruit of 
their toil or passion. But it is given those others 
perhaps — those for whom it could not be — to know i 
happiness greater, it may he, than the joy id. 
possession. 

THE END, 


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